WJ> 





^ 




SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 






BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE EXHIBIT AT THE COTTON STATES INTERNATIONAL 

EXPOSITION, ATLANTA, 1895. 



BY 



CYRUS ABLER, Ph. D., 

Custodian^ Section of Historic Religious Ceremonials^ U. S. National Museum^ 

and 

I. M. CASANOWICZ, Ph. D., 

Aid^ Division of Historic ArchcBology^ U. S. National Museum. 



From the Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1896, pages 943-1023, 
with forty-six plates. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1898. 



7 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



JL^i. 



BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 

A DESCRIPTION OF THE EXHIBIT AT THE COTTON STATES INTERNATIONAL 

EXPOSITION, ATLANTA, 1895. 



BY 



CYRUS ADLER, Ph. D., 

Custodian^ Section oj" Historic Religious Ce7'einonials^ U. S. National Musezini, 

and 

I. M. CASANOWICZ, Ph. D., 

Aid^ Division oy Historic Archeeology^ U. S. National Museztm. 



From the Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1896, pages 943-1023, 
with fort3''-six plates. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1898. 



CytrlpL/L^ O 






OCT 15 1904 
D.ofO. 



.• ..• < 



• : • • • 



BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE EXHIBIT AT THE COTTON STATES INTERNATIONAL 

EXPOSITION, ATLAl^TA, 1895. 

BY 

CYRUS ADLER, PH. B., 

Custodian, Section of Historic Beligious Ceremonials, U. S. National Museum, 

AND 

I. M. CASAIS^OWICZ, PH. D., 

Aid, Division of Historic Archwology, U. S. National Museum. 



943 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Pape. 

Introduction , 953 

The land of the Bible 953 

Map of Palestine 953 

Geology 954 

Dust from Jerusalem 954 

Water from the Jordan 954 

Small shell from Tyre 954 

Granite from Jebel Musa 955 

Flora 955 

Seed pods of the Carol) tree 955 

Sycamore from Palestiue 955 

Apples of Sodom 956 

Unripe pomegranate from Palestine 956 

Cone of the cedar of Lebanon 957 

Cone of a Lebanon fir 958 ' 

Fauna - 958 

Mammals 958 

The ape 958 

The bat 958 

''Coney "-rock- badger , 959 

Young camel 959 

Gazelle 960 

Mouse 960 

Birds 960 

The cock 960 

Turtledove „ 961 

Golden eagle 961 

Hoopoe 962 

Owl 962 

Partridge 963 

Peacock 963 

Pelican 963 

Quail 963 

Raven 903 

Sparrow 964 

Black stork 964 

Swallow 965 

Griflon vulture 965 

Reptiles 965 

Frog 965 * 

Lizards 965 

Viper 966 

Insects 966 

Horsefly 966 

Breeze flies 966 

Sacred scarabaous 967 

Hornet 967 

Locust 967 

Moth 967 

NAT MUS 9G GO 915 



946 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Page. 

Palestinian antiquities 968 

Cast of tlie Moabite stone 968 

Cast of the Siloam inscription 969 

Cast of the LacLish tablet 971 

Cast of the seal of Haggai, son of Shebani;ih 971 

Biblical weights 972 

Cast of an ancient Hebrew weight 972 

Cast of a bead 972 

Musical instruments - 973 

I. Instruments of percussion 975 

1. Round tablet, hand-drum 975 

2. Four-sided tabret 975 

3. Kettledrum 975 

4. Cymbals 975 

5. Castanets 976 

II. Wind instruments 976 

1. Kam's horn 976 

2. Trumpet 977 

3. Flute or pipe 977 

4. Double flute 977 

5. Reeds or i^an pipes 978 

6. Bagpipe 978 

III. Stringed instruments 978 

1. Harp 978 

2. Psaltery or dulcimer 978 

Precious stones of the Bible 979 

Ruby 981 

Topaz 981 

Garnet carbuncle 981 

Emerald 981 

Sapphire 981 

Sardonyx 981 

Diamond 981 

White sapphire adamant 981 

Jacinth 981 

Agate 981 

Amethyst 981 

Beryl 981 

Chalcedony 981 

Onyx 982 

Jasper 982 

Carnelian 982 

Chrysolite 982 

Amber 982 

Chrysoprase 982 

Lapis lazuli 982 

Pearl 982 

A selection of the coins of Bible lands 982 

Shekel 984 

Two coins of John Hyrcanus 984 

Widow's mite 984 

Coin of Herod Antipas 984 

Coin of Herod Philip II 985 

Coin of Agripjia II 985 

Denarius, or Roman tribute penny 985 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 947 

A selection of the coins of Bible lauds — ContimuMl, Pajre. 

Stater 985 

Coin of Caesarea 985 

Tetradrachm of Sidon 9H6 

Tetradrachras of Tyre 986 

Coin of Ashkelon 986 

Coins of the city of Damascus 986 

Tetradrachm of the city of Babylon 986 

Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great 986 

Tetradrachm of Seleucus I, Nicator, King of Syria 986 

Coin of Demetrius Soter 987 

Stater of Tarsus 987 

Coin of Cyprus 987 

Tetradrachnis of Ephesus - 987 

Heniidrachms of Ephesus 987 

Aes (=As) of Thessalonica - 987 

Coiu of Thessalonica 988 

Tetradrachm of Macedonia 988 

Didrachma of Athens - 988 

Tetradrachnis of Athens 988 

Child's bank 988 

Dress, ornaments, and household nteusils 988 

Sheepskin coat . . - 988 

Male costume of Bagdad, Mesopotamia 989 

Woman's costume of Bagdad, Mesoiiotamia 990 

Syrian coat . 990 

Silver necklace 990 

Silver anklets 990 

Gold nose ring . : . . 990 

Kohl and ancient and modern implements used in painting the eyes 991 

Millstones 991 

Goatskin waterbag 992 

Bird trap 992 

Sling 992 

Wooden door lock and key 993 

Syrian inkhorn 993 

Jewish religious ceremonial 993 

Manuscript copy of the I'entateuch, or five books of Moses in Hel»re\v . .. 993 

Pointer 993 

Silver breastplate of the Torah 994 

Veil of the Holy Ark 994 

Sabbath lamp 994 

KiddusL cloth 994 

Silver spice box 995 

Brass plate, used at the Passover meal 995 

Omer tablet _ . 995 

Lnlab and Ethrog 996 

Manuscript copy of the l)()olc of Estljer 996 

Lamp used at the feast of dedication 996 

Knife and cup nsed at circunicision 997 

Garm(;nt of fringes 997 

Phylacteries 997 

Silk prayer shawl 998 

Gold wedding ring 998 

Marriage contract 998 

Mizrach 999 



048 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Jewish religious ccretudiiial — Continued. Page. 

Knife with its sbeatli 999 

Antiquities 999 

Egypt 999 

Cast of a bust of Ramses II 999 

Cast of a relief of Ramses II lOOO 

Cast of the head of Seti 1 1001 

Cast of a relief of Seti I 1001 

Cast of the head of Tirhakah 1001 

Mummy 1001 

Model of a mummy 1003 

Fragments of mummied dog, cat, crocodile, and other animals 1003 

Book of the dead 1004 

Two Scarabaei 1004 

Egyptian brick 1004 

Modern Egyptian brick from Thebes 1005 

Egyptian cotton 1005 

Assyria and Babylonia 1006 

Cast of the so-called oval of Sargon 1006 

Model of a temple tower of Babylon 1006 

The Chaldean Deluge tablet 1007 

Cast of a coIossmI human-headed winged lion 1008 

Cast of the black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II 1008 

Cast of a bell 1009 

The Hittites 1010 

Cast of a colossal statute of the god Hadad 1011 

Hittite divinity 1012 

Hittite winged divinity 1012 

Hittite God of the Chase 1012 

Hittite figure 1012 

Hittite winged sphinx, with human head 1012 

Hittite winged sphinx, with double head 1012 

Hittite king 1012 

Three Hittite warriors 1012 

Hittite lute player 1013 

Hittite lion chase 1013 

Hittite warrior 1013 

Collection of Bibles 1013 

The Old Testament 1013 

The New Testament. 1014 

Hebrew Bible, facsimile of Aleppo Codex 1014 

Fragments of manuscript of the Hebrew Bible 1014 

Printed editions of the Hebrew Bible 1015 

Hebrew Bible without vowel points 1015 

Hebrew Bible edited by Elias Hutter 1015 

Hebrew Bible, lirst American edition 1015 

Polychrome edition of the Old Testament 1016 

Leicester Codex of the New Testament 1016 

Greek and Latin New Testament of Erasmus 1016 

Greek Testament, first American edition 1016 

Greek Testament, second American edition 1016 

Ancient versions of the Bible 1016 

Targum or Aramean translation of the Old Testament. 1017 

Facsimile of manuscripts of the Septuagint 1017 

Facsimile of the Codex Vaticanus 1017 

Codex Sinaiticus 1017 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 949 

Collection of Bibles— Continued. Page. 
Ancient versions of tlie Bible — Continued. 

Codex Alexandrinus 1018 

The Vulgate or Latin Bible lOlh 

Syriac Old Testament 1018 

Syriac New Testament 1018 

Coptic New Testament 1019 

Etliiopic version of the Bible 1019 

Arabic version of Saadia Gaon 1019 

Arabic Bible, manuscript . 1019 

Arabic New Testament 1019 

Modern translations of the Bible 1019 

The New Testament, translated by John Wyclitfe 1019 

Tyndale's New Testamen t 1019 

The Gothic and Anglo-Saxon Gospels 1020 

Coverdale's Bible _ . 1020 

The Genevan Version 102!) 

King James or Authorized Version 1020 

The Revised Version 1021 

Parallel New Testament 1021 

The New Testament, translated by Tischendorf 1021 

Luther's Bible 1021 

Spanish Old Testament 1021 

Eliot's Indian Bible 1022 

Miniature Bible 1022 

Cromwell's Soldier's Pocket Bible 1022 

Hieroglj^phic Bible 1023 

Bishop Asbury's Testament 1023 

Thomas Jefferson's Bible 1023 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PLATES. 

Facing page. 

i. Musical instruments of percussion 974 

2. AVind musical instrumeuts 976 

3. Trumpet. Morocco, Africa 978 

4. Assyrian bas-relief representing a flute player 978 

5. Arch of Titus at Rome, showing two trumpetsfrom the Temple of Jerusalem. 978 

6. Bagpipe. Tunis, Africa 978 

7. Assyrian bas-relief showing harp players 978 

8. Hittite lute player, Senjirli, Asia Minor 978 

9. Coins of Bible lands 982 

10. Sheepskin coat. Syria 988 

11. Eastern ornaments 990 

12. Millstones and goatskin waterbag 992 

13. Women grinding corn by hand mill 992 

14. Bird trap, sling, and door lock 992 

15. Breastplate of the Torah. Constantinople 994 

16. Veil of the Holy Ark (Pftroc/<e//0. Constantinople 994 

17. Lamps and slaughtering knife. Germany 994 

18. Implements of circumcision, and spice-box 996 

19. Passover plate. Constantinople 996 

20. Omer tablet 996 

21. Phylacteries (tefilUn)... 998 

22. Marriage contract (Kethubah). Rome, Italy 998 

23. Mummy and cover of coffin. Luxor, Egypt 1002 

24. Mummy case 1002 

25. Model of a mummy and fragments of mummied animals. Egypt 1004 

26. Model of a Babylonian Temple Tower 1006 

27. Hadad. Gertchin, Northern Syria 1012 

28. Hittite Divinity with trident and hammer 1012 

29. Hittite Winged Divinity with head of Griffon. Senjirli, Asia Minor 1012 

30. Hittite God of the Chase holding hares. Senjirli, Asia Minor 1012 

31. Hittite figure surmounted by winged sun disk. Boghazkeui, Asia Minor. 1012 

32. Hittite winged Sphinx with human head. Senjirli, Asia Minor 1012 

33. Hittite winged Sphinx with double head of man and lion. Senjirli, Asia 1012 

Minor 1012 

34. Hittite King with scepter and spear. Senjirli, Asia Minor 1012 

35. Hittite warriors. Boghazkeui, Asia Minor 1012 

36. Hittite lion chase. Saktschegozu 1012 

37. Hittite warrior with ax and sword. Senjirli, Asia Minor 1012 

38. Facsimile of Aleppo Codex. Aleppo, Syria 1014 

39. Hebrew manuscript of the thirteenth century. Cairo, Egypt 1014 

40. Hebrew manuscript of the thirteenth century. Cairo, Egypt 1014 

41. First American edition of the Hebrew Bible 1016 

42. Greek and Latin New Testament of Erasmus 1016 

43. First American edition of the Greek New Testament 1016 

44. Arabic Bible. C;uro, Egypt 1018 

45. Title page of Eliot's Indian Bible 1022 

46. Hieroglyphic Bible 1024 

951 



BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE EXHIBIT AT THE COHON STATES 
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, ATLANTA, 1895. 



By Cyrus Abler, Ph. D., 
Custodian, Section of Historic Beligioiis Ceremonials, U. S. National Museum, 

and 

I. M. Casanowicz, Ph. D. 

Aid, Division of Historic Archceology, U. S. National Museum. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The Section of Oriental Antiquities in the U. S. National Museum 
was established in 1887, and in 1889 there was added to the Museum 
a Section of Religions Ceremonial Institutions. Although not at all 
identical in scope, it was found best for practical reasons that the 
exhibit of these two sections in the Atlanta Exposition should be 
united in the form of a collection which, for want of a better name, may 
be called Biblical Antiq uities. The space allowed was an alcove 20 by 20 
feet. All of the subdivisions of this subject were represented, so that 
there was no possibility of completeness in any direction. Neverthe- 
less, the exhibit had an educational value, as being the first collection 
put together at an exposition which attempted to show in outline all of 
the possibilities of study in this most important field. 

It has, therefore, seemed proper that a record be made of this collec- 
tion as it was actually shown at Atlanta, in the order in which it was 
shown, and without any attempt to fill out the deficiencies which are 
known to have existed. Such a description will, it is hoped, be of 
service to teachers and students, and may possibly furnish a sugges- 
tion to those who are interested in the establishment of small collec- 
tions which touch the interests of so many persons, who, without being 
special students and investigators, are yet deeply concerned in any- 
thing that relates to the arclueology and history, the ethnology, and 
the art of that portion of the eastern world around the Mediterranean, 
to which the culture and civilization of later Europe and even of 
modern America can in a great degree be traced. 

The limitations of space caused vsome apparent incongruities; never- 
theless, it can be said that nothing was shown which did not boar 

upon Biblical history and antiquities. 

953 



954 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

THE LAND OF THE BIBLE. 

Map of Palestine. — It is not possible to understand the geology, 
the flora, and fauna ot* a country, the habits and customs of the people, 
nor their history, without au idea of the physical features of the coun- 
try studied. The first object shown, therefore, Avas a relief map of 
Palestine. This map is the result of geographical and geological sur- 
vey work, carried on for more than ten years by experts in the service 
of the Palestine Exploration Fund. It is 7 feet 9 inches by 4 feet 1 inch 
in size and made on the scale of TeH^^nro? ^r three-eighths of an inch to 
the mile. It embraces the whole of western Palestine, from Baalbec 
in the north to Kadesh Barnea in the south, and shows nearly all that is 
known of the (country east of the Jordan. The natural features of the 
country stand oat prominently, being reinforced by appropriate colors. 
The mountains and plains are shaded a creamy white. The seas, lakes, 
marshes, and perennial streams are shown in blue. The Old and New 
Testament sites are marked in red. The map thus furnishes a most 
important aid for the understanding of the Bible narrative.^ 

GEOLOGY. 

No attempt was made to present in systematic form the geology of 
the country nor to show in any way the features of the soil. The fol- 
lowing specimens, Avhich possess a sentimental interest merely, were 
placed in the collection. 

Dust from Jerusalem. — Dust from the Holy Land is with many 
Jews a much-cherished possession, perhaps suggested by Psalms cii, 
14: "For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity upon 
her dust." It is sometimes placed in the graves, and is considered as 
a substitute for actual burial in the Holy Land, which is one of the 
pious aspirations of the orthodox Jew. 

Water from the Jordan. — The Jordan is one of the points of 
attraction for pilgrims to Palestine. As early as the time of Constaii- 
tine (306 to 337) baptism in the Jordan was deemed a special privilege, 
on account of its association with John the Baptist and the baptism of 
Christ;^ even now the Oriental Christians attach great importance to 
the bath in the Jordan, as the termination of a pilgrimage.^ 

The pilgrims usually fill jars from the river to be used for baptisms 
at home. 

Small shell {Janthina fragilis) from Tyre. — Tyre was in ancient 
times the wealthiest and most magnificent of Phenician cities. It was 
situated on the Mediterranean, and consisted of two parts, Palaetyrus 
on the mainland and Neotyrus on the island. It was famous for the 

^Compare the Survey of Western Palestine; the Survey of Eastern Palestine, and 
the Geology of Palestine and Arabia Petraea, published by the Palestine Explora- 
tion Fund. 

^Matthew iii, 13-17. 

^For a description of the bathing of the pilgrims see Sinai and Palestine, by Dean 
Stanley, New York, 1883, pp. 384-386. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 955 

precious purple dye, whicli was extensively prepared from the shell- 
fish Murex. Tyre is often mentioned in the Bible under the name of 
^or.^ The modern (^ur, on its site, is an unimportant town of about 
5,000 inhabitants. 

Granite from Jebel Musa. — Jebel Musa (mountain of Moses) is 
one of the peaks in the southeast of the tSinaitic Mountain range. It 
rises about 7,000 feet above the sea level, and tradition assigns to it the 
giving of the Law to Moses. The Sinaitic Mountain chain is formed 
of granite and porphyry. The quarries and mineral deposits of the 
Sinaitic Peninsula were worked as early as 3,000 B. 0. 

FLORA. 

The flora, like the geology of the country, was but inadequately rep- 
resented, the following specimens being the only ones shown : 

Seed pods of the carob tree. — The carob or locust tree ( Cera- 
tonia siliqua) is common in Galilee, in the plain of Sharon, and in the 
countries around the Mediterranean Sea in general. The island of 
Cyprus alone produces at present about 30,000 tons of carobs, almost 
the whole of which is exported to England and France, and "this 
quantity is produced by hardly a third of the carob trees growing in 
the island, because i^erhaps the other two-thirds of these trees are 
not yet grafted."^ Its fruit is a brown pod, from G to 12 inches long, 
about an inch broad, having a fleshy or mealy pulp, of an agreeable 
taste, which is not only ground up for cattle and swine, but also exten- 
sively used as food by the Arabs, Moors, and Italians. Large quantities 
of carob are used, especially in France, for distillation, and also for 
producing a sort of molasses^ The English name is borrowed from 
the Oriental, probably coming from the Arabic "* Harruh through 
Spanish; it occurs in the Talmud in the form Hariib. It is generally 
assumed that the carob beans represent the "husks," in the Revised 
Version "pods of the carob tree," (in the Greek original Kepanov, 
Tceration) in the parable of the Prodigal Son.^ Through a confusion 
between the pods of the carob tree (also called locust) with the locusts 
(insects, Greek dxpids?^ akrides) which John the Baptist ate,° it was 
thought that the pods formed the food of John the Baptist, and they 
are still commonly called "St. John's bread." 

Sycamore from Palestine. — The sycamore tree {Ficus sycomorus)^ 
Hebrew shiqmah, is represented in I Kings x, 27, as having been 
abundant in Palestine in the reign of Solomon : "The king made silver 
to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore 
trees that are in the lowland for abundance," and similarly we read in 



1 Ezekiel xxvi-xxviii, etc. 

2 P. G. Gennadiiis, Report on the Agriculture of Cyprus, pI;. 1, p. 17. 
^Idem., pp. 18, 19. 

''It also occurs in French. See Remarques sur les mots franyais dt^rivos de I'arabe, 
par Henri Sommons, S. .J., Beyrouth, 1890, p. 18. 
^•Luke XV, 16. 
^Matthew iii, 4. 



956 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Isaiah ix, 9, 10, 'Hhe sycamores are cut down, but we will change tliera 
into cedars." The sycamore of the Bible has no natural alliance with 
the maple sycamores of Europe and North America. In flowers and 
foliage it closely resembles the common fig, but grows to a greater size, 
sometimes reaching a height of 30 or 40 feet and a diameter of 20 feet. 
It bears at least two crops annually, but they are small and insipid 
compared with those of the common fig tree [Ficus carica). Still they 
are gathered and used as food by the poorer classes. The prophet 
Amos describes himself as a "dresser of sycamore trees." ^ In the 
Egyptian cult the sycamore was symbolical of the tree of life, being 
dedicated to Hathor. 

Apples of Sodom. — The apples of Sodom are considered by some 
to represent the nightshade {Solanum sanctum) which grows in bushes 
and thickets in warm regions and especially in the Jordan Valley. It 
is a shrubby plant, 3 or 4 feet high. Its blossoms resemble in color and 
form those of the potato, and the fruits are oval-shaped, first of yel- 
low, but when ripe of a beautiful red color. The fruit is said to be 
turned into dust by the sting of an insect, leaving only the skin Intact. 
Eobinson identifies the fruit of the Asclepias gigantea with the apples 
of Sodom. This fruit resembles a large yellow apple. Externally of 
fair appearance, it bursts when pressed like a bubble filled with air, 
leaving only the shreds of a thin skin in the hand. The Orientals 
describe the Asclepias gigantea as a plant containing an astringent milky 
juice. (Arabic, YatiT. Syriac, Yetiia sebea lielha?) 

Unripe pomegranate from Palestine. — The pomegranate {Pu- 
nica granatum; Hebrew, Rimmon) is enumerated among the plants char- 
acteristic of the promised laud,"^ though it was not native there; it was 
and continues to be extensively cultivated in Palestine, and its failure 
is represented as a special punishment of God.^ It grows wild in 
Persia, Afghanistan, and neighboring countries, and has been culti- 
vated from time immemorial along the north and south coasts of the 
Mediterranean.^ 

It is still common in Tunis and Algiers, where it is called by the 
Arabs rimdn, corresponding exactly to the ancient Hebrew name. It 
is a beautiful shrub, with dark and shining leaves and bellsbaped 
flowers. In the autumn it yields a ruddy fruit about the size of an 
orange, usually of a reddish tint, filled with a delicious pulp, in which 
semitransparent seeds lie in rows. It was appreciated for its fruit '' 
and its wine," which is made from the fermented juice. Its fruits and 
flowers were also used in medicine, and the rind for tanning leather. 
The manufacture of leather by means of it was introduced by tbe 

^ Amos vii, 14. 

^Immanuel Loew, Aramaeische Pflanzeunamen, Leipzig, 1881, p. 192. 

^ Deuteronomy viii, § : *' A land of pomegranates. '' 

-•Joeli, 12. 

^ Pliny Nat. Hist., XIII, 34. 

'Canticles iv, 13: ''an orchard of pomegranates with precious fruits." 

"^ Idem viii, 2. 



EXHI13IT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 957 

Moors from Africa iuto Spaiu, especially into Cordova, and the leather 
was hence called "Cordovan." It is still used in Morocco, the leather 
of which country retains its superiority, especially for bookbinding. 
The flowers and fruit of the pomegranate entered into the religious rites 
and symbolism of the Phenicians and ancient Romans, as well as of 
the ancient Israelites. The robe of the High Priest had an embroidery 
of ''pomegranates of blue and of purple and of scarlet round about 
the skirt thereof,"^ while the pomegranate also formed a decorative 
symbol in the columns of the Temple.^ Hehn^ says: "Peligious inter- 
course in ancient times also brought the glorious pomegranate tree to 
Euroi)e. Its purple blossoms in brilliant foliage and red-cheeked fruit 
rich in kernels must have from the beginning excited the imagination 
of the i>eoples of Western Asia, whose mode of thinking was symbol- 
ical. In the Odyssey, among the fruits in the garden of the king of the 
Pheaks, and among those that torment by their sight, the Phrygian 
Tantalus are also the pomegranates fjoiGl {rhoisi), which name in itself 
bears decisive testimony to the origin of the plant in Semitic language 
and culture." "The name of the i)omgranate fruit among the Portu- 
guese is to the x)resent day the Arabic roma^ romeiray^ 

Cone of the oedar of Lebanon. — The cedar of Lebanon ( Cedrus 
libanij Hebrew JErez) has its chief habitat in the ranges of the Tau- 
rus and Lebanon, the latter being its southernmost limit. The Old 
Testament abounds in references to the cedar of Lebanon. It was 
considered as the prince of trees, the emblem of all that is grand, 
magnificent, and durable: "The glory of Lebanon;^ the trees of the 
Lord are satisfied; the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted;"''" 
"the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a 
cedar in Lebanon."" Frequent references are also made to the eco- 
nomic uses of the cedar. It supplied the chief material for the wood- 
work of the temple of Solomon and the royal palaces,^ the second 
temple of Zerubbabel,^ and according to Josephus^" was also used in the 
rebuilding of the temple by Herod. Prom the Assyrian inscriptions it 
is learned that the Assyrian kings procured the costly woods for their 
buildings from the Lebanon. Cedar timber was also used in the great 
Persian edifices at Persepolis, in the first temple of Diana at Ephesus, 
and that of Apollo at Utica, where the age of the cedar timber was 
computed at two thousand years. At present the forest of Lebanon 

1 Exodus xxviii, 33, 34. 

2 I Kings vii, 18-20. 

^ Kiilturpflanzen und Hausthiere iu ilirem iJborgang aiis Asien iiacli Grieclienlaiid 
und Italien sowio iu das iibrige Europa. Historisch-linguistische Skizzen, Berlin, 
1870, p. 155. 

4 Quoted by Loew, p. 362. 

*• Isaiah xxxv, 2. 

•^ Psalms civ, 16. 

^ Idem xcii, 12. 

^ I Kings vi and vii. 

i'Ezra iii, 7. 

iojewish War, V, 5, 2. 



958 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

"is sboru of its glory," and only between 400 and 500 cedar trees are 
found in small groups in various parts of the mountain range, most of 
them in the valley of Kadisha, nearly 7,000 feet above the sea. The 
tree is still called by the Arabs Arz, identical with the ancient Hebrew 
name.' 

Cone of a Lebanon fir. — The Hebrew word^ Berosh^ which is 
rendered by the English version "fir," probably comprises the other 
coniferous trees of Palestine, including junipers, pines, and the funeral 
cypress. Of the pine there are four species in Palestine. The most 
common is the Aleppo pine {Pi7ius lialepensis)^ then the pinaster (P. 
pinaster), the stone {P.iy'mea), and the Pyrenean [P. pyrenaica). The 
Juniper us excelsa is very common, and the Cypressus se'.npervirens is the 
common species of western Asia and southern Europe. "Fir trees" are 
frequently referred to in the Old Testament in association with cedars 
of Lebanon, though the former were deemed inferior: "Howl, O iir 
tree, for the cedar is fallen."^ ''Fir" timber was used for the floors 
of the temple,^ for ships' planks,^ and for musical instruments.'^ The 
fruit is but once mentioned : "I am like a green fir tree; from me is thy 
fruit found." ' 

FAUNA. 

Though for obvious reasons no attempt was made at a compete col- 
lection of the fauna of the Bible, a sufhcient number of specimens was 
shown from each class to make the exhibit of this division of the 
natural history of the Bible in some measure representative. 

MAMMALS. 

The mammals were illustrated by the following specimens: 
The APE '^ {Hanumanmonliey, )Sem)iopithecus entellus ; Hebrew, Qof). — 
The ape was not native in Palestine. It is mentioned in the Bible 
among the commodities brought to Solomon by the ships of Tarshish.^ 
The Hebrew name for ape is cognate with that in the Tamil language 
{Kapi)^ and it is therefore assumed that the apes were brought from 
Ceylon or South India, where the genus Semnopithecus is especially fre- 
quent. The ai)e has also been identified among the animals depicted 
on the Assyrian monuments. 

The bat (Hebrew, Atallef). — The bat is classed in the catalogue of 
animals^" among the unclean birds, which are forbidden for food. In 



' Immauuel Loew, Aramaeische Pflanzenuamen, Leipzig, 1881, p. 57. 
" Some authorities favor the rendering cypress. 
•^ Zachariah xi, 2. 

■•I Kings vi, 15. The Revised Version gives cypress in the margin. 
^ Ezekiel xxvii, 5. 
^ II Samuel vi, 5. 
■^ Hosea xiv, 8. 

^ Since the version of 1611 English usage has changecl. Monkey, the more general 
term, would be a fitter rendering. 

" I Kings X, 22, and the parallel passages in II Chrouicles ix, 21. 
^"Leviticus xi, 19, 20; compare Deuteronomy siv, 18. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 959 

Isaitih ii, 20, 21, bats are alluded to in company with moles as inhabiting' 
holes and cavities about ruins; ''In that day a man shall cast away his 
idols of silver, and his idols of gold which they made for him to wor- 
ship, to the moles and to the bats to go into the caverns of the rocks, 
and into the clefts of the ragged rocks." Bats are still very numerous 
in Palestine, about twenty species being known. One of the most com- 
mon is Cynonycteris cegyptiaca^ a specimen of which was shown. 

"Goney"-rociv-badger {Procavia syriaca, or Hyrax syriacus ; 
Hebrew, Shafan). — In the English versions of the Bible the Hebrew 
Shafan is rendered " coney," Avliich formerly was the common name for 
rabbit, although that usage is now obsolete. It is well known that the 
introduction of the rabbit into the East is of recent date, and that no 
rabbit was known to the ancient inhabitants of Bible lands.^ Besides, 
while the rabbit has its dwelling place in sand or clay, the IShafan is 
enumerated in the Bible^ among the "four things little upon earth, 
but exceeding wise, being but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses 
in the rock," and their attachment to rocks is also referred to in Psalms 
civ, 18: "The rocks are refuge for the sliefanim.''^ The animal men- 
tioned, in these passages can not, therefore, have been a rabbit, and it is 
now assumed by all writers to be the Procavia or Hyrax syriacus^ which 
belongs to an isolated group of hoofed mammals whose dentition mani- 
fests considerable similarity to the teeth of the rhinoceros. The hyrax 
is not as common in Palestine as formerly, but it is still found in some 
places, as in the gorge of the Kedron, on the west side of the Dead Sea, 
while at the summit of Jebel Musa, on Mount Sinai, a whole colony is 
in existence. The Arabs call the hyrax wahr^ and describe it as the 
"little animal of the children of Israel" (janamu hani Israil)? In 
Abyssinia the hyrax is called gehejat^ and its flesh is there used as food 
by the Mohammedans.* The Israelites counted it among the unclean 
animals." 

YouNa CAMEL (Camelus dromedarivs, Hebrew Gamal). — The camel 
was, and is still, one of the most useful beasts in Palestine. It is re- 
ferred to in the Bible as being used for riding,^ as a beast of burden," and 
of draft.^ It was also used in war.^ Among Jacob's gifts to Esau were 
thirty milch camels (literally, ''camels giving suck") with their colts." 
The flesh of the camel was forbidden as food.^^ It is eaten now when 
better food can not be had in most parts of the East; but the meat is 

1 W. Houghton, Gleanings from the Natural History of the Ancients, pp. 139, 184. 
2 Proverbs xxx, 24 and 26. 

■'Fritz Hoinmel, Die Namen der Siingethiere bei den Siidsemitischen Volkeru, 
p. 322. .' 

^Dr. B. Lougrjivel in Zoologische Jabrbuecher, III, j). 336. 
•'' Leviticus xi, 5; Deuteronomy xiv, 7. 
•'Genesis xxiv, 64. 
"'Idem xxxvii, 25; I Kings x, 2, etc. 
" Isaiah xxi, 7. 
"I Samuel xxx, 17. 
'"Genesis xxxii, 15. 
^'Leviticus xi, 4j Deuteronomy xiv, 7. 



960 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

said to be very coarse and dry. The meat of a very young camel, how- 
ever, is esteemed by the Arabs as a great luxury. The camel had many 
uses in the arts. Camel's hair was used for weaving into cloth. John 
the Baptist " had his raiment of camel's hair." ' Tents, shields, harness, 
saddles, and even trunks are made of camel's skin. Two species, the 
one-hum])ed camel {Camelus dromedarlns) and the Bactrian two humped 
camel {Cameln.s bactrianus), were known in Palestine, the former being 
more frequent. The camel was the subject of many proverbial expres- 
sions, two of which are by Jesus, Matthew xix, 24: "It is easier fora 
camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the 
Kingdom of God," and xxiii, 24: "Strain out the gnat and swallow the 
camel." The word for camel is practically the same in most ancient 
and modern languages. 

Gazelle [Gazella dorcas; Hebrew, ^ehi). — The gazelle (in the Author- 
ized Version "roebuck," also translated "roe" in the Eevised Version) 
was allowed as food.'^ It was provided for the royal table of Solomon.^ 
The characteristics of swiftness and gentleness of these animals are 
often referred to^ "as light of foot as a wild roe;"^ "as swift as the roes 
upon the mountains;"'' "The voice of my beloved; behold he cometh 
leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is 
like a roe or a young hart."" The feminine form, in Hebrew (^ehUih^ in 
Aramean Tabitlui^ was often used as a proper name;^ for example, 
"Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by 
interi)retation is called Dorcas." The Arabs call the gazelle tahi and 
employ it frequently in their love poetry as the image of feminine love- 
liness. More than twenty species of gazelle inhabit Africa, Arabia, 
Persia, India, and central Asia. The gazelle of Syria, Egypt, and 
Arabia is the Gazella dorcas. It is very common in Palestine, espe- 
cially in the Judean wilderness and the Arabah. 

Mouse (Hebrew, Alcbar). — The mouse is enumerated among the 
unclean "creeping things,"^ " eating swine's llesh, and the abomina- 
tion, and the mouse." Mice were sent as a plague upon the Philistines 
for having carried oft* the Ark of the Covenant.^" No less than twenty 
species have been fouiul in Palestine. The Mus bactrianus^ which is 
especially plentiful and familiar, was given as an illustration. 

BIRDS. 

The birds enumerated in the Bible were represented by fourteen 
specimens. 

The cock. — Xo mention is made of the cock in the Old Testament, 
but in the New Testament he is referred to in connection with Peter's 

1 Matthew iii, 4 ; Mark i, 6. '■ Canticles ii, 8. 

2 Deuteronomy xii, 15, 22; xiv, 5; xv, 22. 'Idem, \^iii, 14. 

3 1 Kings iv, 23. s II Kings xii ; I Acts ix, 36. 

■»II Samuel ii, 18. 9 Leviticus xi, 29; Isaiah Ixvi, 17. 

•"^I Chronicles xii, 8. loi Samuel vi. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 961 

denial of Jesus, when Jesus said to Peter, "The cock shall not crow 
this day until thou shalt thrice deny that thou kuowest me."^ It is 
said that in remembrance of the crowing of the cock, which brought 
Peter to a sense of his guilt, the practice began of placing weather- 
cocks upon towers and steeples.^ 

There is independent testimony from the Mishna that the cock had 
become common in Palestine. The Mishna was collected about 200 of 
the Christian era, but as many portions of it go back to at least three 
centuries earlier it is in some portions contemporary with and even 
earlier than the New Testament. According to the Mishna^ the Jews 
were prohibited from selling a white cock to the heathens. This pro- 
hibition was compromised by the permission to sell if the toe were cut 
off, because "they do not sacrifice anything defective.'^ The word for 
cock is " Tarnegol,^^ Syriac Tarnagla. There is no Biblical Hebrew 
word for cock. In addition to the above the Talmud uses the word 
Geber, which means simply " male." The crowing of the cock is referred 
to a number of times in the Talmud, cock crow being a recognized time.^ 
There are three that are strong (unyielding), says the Talmud, " Israel 
among the peoples; the dog among the beasts, and the cock among 
the birds." {Beca 5b.) 

On Babylonian gems the cock appears as the herald of dawn, the 
heavenly guardian of light, who by his crowing drives away the demons 
of the night. The native country of the domestic cock is supposed to 
be India, and the migration of domestic fowl to western Asia and 
Europe probably took place with the Medo-Persian conquerors. As 
the Persians spread their dominions, the cock, the "Persian bird" 
went with them. 

Turtledove (Turtur risorius ; Hebrew, Tor). — The turtledove and 
the dove or pigeon (Hebrew, Yonah) are very frequently mentioned in 
the Bible. They were the only birds permitted as sacrifices.^ Noah 
sent forth a dove three times from the ark. On its second flight it 
returned with an olive leaf,^ which has since been regarded as the 
emblem of peace. Numerous allusions are made in the Scriptures to 
the simplicity, innocence, gentleness, and fidelity of the dove : ^ " Ephraim 
is like a silly dove without understanding."^ "Be ye therefore wise as 
serpents, and harmless as doves." The turtledove is noted for the regu- 
larity of its migration:^ "And the turtle and the swallow and the crane 
observe the time of their coming," compare Canticles ii, 11, 12. At 
present there are four species of dove and three species of turtledove 
inhabiting Palestine in large numbers. 

Golden eagle {Aquila chrysaetos ; Hebrew, JVesher). — The Hebrew 

1 Luke xxii, 34 ; John xiii, 38. *' Genesis viii, 8-11. 

^Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 458. '''Hosoa vii, 11. 

•*Ahoda Zara Idolatry, I, 5. *^ Matthew x, 16. 

"* Mishna Yonia, I, 8. 'Meroniiah viii, 7. 
'^Leviticus i, 14; v, 7; xii, S; Luke ii, 2L 

NAT MUS 90 ()I 



962 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



term Xesher, which in the English Bible is invariably rendered ^^ eagle," 
comprises large birds of prey in general, and i)erhaps particularly the 
grifi'on vulture. The golden eagle is quite common in Palestine. At 
least seven other distinct kinds have been observed. Numerous refer- 
ences are found in the Bible to the characteristics of the eagle: Its 
high soaring in the air;' its molting, as a symbol of the renewing of 
strength;- its strength;'' its predatory habits;^ its power of vision j^ 
its care for its young, in comparison with God's sheltering care over 
his peoi^le.'' The eagle, as emblematic of the divine attributes, is one 
of the four living creatures in the vision of Ezekiel (i, 10) and in 
the Apocalypse of John (iv, 7). It is also the emblem of John the 
Evangelist. 

Hoopoe ( ZTpupa ejmps ; Hebrew, DuMfath). — It is probable that the 
Hebrew name diikifath, occurring in the list of unclean birds,' denotes 
the hoopoe, as the Eevised Version translates it, and not the 'lapwing,'' 
as rendered by the Authorized Version. The hoopoe feeds on insects 
in dunghills ajid marshy places, and is therefore considered a very 
liltliy bird. It is very common in Egypt, where it is found throughout 
the winter. In Palestine it is a summer visitor. The Egyj)tians con- 
sidered the hoopoe as symbolical of gratitude, because it repays the 
early kindness of its parents in their old age by trimming their wings 
and bringing them food when they are acquiring new plumage. The 
Arabs call it the '' doctor,-' believing it to possess marvelous medicinal 
qualities, and they use its head in charms and incantations. 

Owl. — Various Hebrew names are assigned by the English Version 
to different species of owl — Yanshiif\ Leviticus xi, 17; Deuteronomy 
xiv, 16, '-great owl;" Kos, in the same passage, "little owl.^ 

The owl belonged to the unclean birds, and is enumerated among the 
animals inhabiting deserted and dismal places.^ The Egyptian eagle 
owl {Bubo ascalaphus) and the little owl {Athene gJaux) are the most 
common species in Palestine. The latter known by the name of Boomeh 

^Isaiah xl, 31: ''They shall mount np with wings as eagles." Jeremiah xlix, 
16, etc. 

2 ''Thy youth is renewed like the eagle." — Psalms ciii, 5. 

^Hosea viii, 1: "As an eagle he cometh against the house of the Lord.'' 

•*Job ix, 26: "As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey. Compare Proverbs xxx, 
17; Matthew xxiv, 28. 

•'^Joh xxxix, 28, 29: "She dwelleth on the rock, and hath her lodging there upon 
the crag of the rock and the stronghold. From thence she spieth out the prey; her 
eyes behold it afar off". "' 

^^Deuteronomy xxxii, 11: "As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, that fluttereth 
over her young, he spread abroad his wings, he took them, he bare them on his, 
pinions." 

'Deuteronomy xiv, 18; Leviticus xi, 19. 

^These names are disputed; some translate Yanslinfhj "water fowl;" ^os by peli- 
can, or falcon. Lilith (Isaiah xxxiv, 14), which is rendered in the Authorized Version 
by screech owl, in all probability means simply a specter. It is rendered in the 
Revised Version "night monster." 

^Psalms cii, 6: "I am become as an owl of the waste places." 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 963 

among the Arabs, is also called tlie " mother of ruins," as no ruin or 
tomb of pretension will readily be found without one. This species is 
a great favorite with the Arabs, being regarded as lucky and friendly 
to man. 

Partridge {Caccabis chucar, Hebrew Qore). — Reference is made to 
the partridge in Samuel xxvi, 20, ''as when one doth hunt a partridge 
in the mountains," and in Jeremiah xvii, 11, as the partridge (margin 
of Eevised Version "sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid,") "gath- 
ereth young which she hath not brought forth," alluding to the ancient 
belief that the partridge was in the habit of stealing eggs and hatching 
them. Besides the chucar partridge, Hey's sand partridge (A^nnoperdix 
heyi) is abundant in Palestine and in Sinai. 

Peacock {Favo cristatus; Hebrew, TukMyim). — The peacock is men- 
tioned among the animals brought by Solomon's ships from Tarshish.^ 
It is an Indian bird, and the Hebrew name can be traced to the Tamil 
tolcei Malabar togai^ toghai, "the crested bird." In some parts of India 
it is very abundant and almost domesticated. It is venerated by the 
Hindus, and large flocks are kept at their temples. It made its appear- 
ance in Greece in the middle of the fifth century B. C, and was adopted 
at Samos as the sacred bird of Hera (Juno) at the temple of that goddess, 
the Herseum. 

Pelican {Felecanus onocrotalus ; Hebrew, Qahith). — The pelican is one 
of the unclean birds,^ being regarded as an emblem of desolation and 
ruin.^ From the habit of this bird of storing quantities of food in the 
large pouch attached to its lower mandible, for the purpose of feeding 
its young, which it does by xiressing its beak against its breast, the 
fable arose that the pelican opened its breast with its beak and fed its 
young with its own blood, which seemed to derive support from the red 
tips at the end of the bill. Besides the common white pelican another 
species, the Dalmatian pelican {Felecanus crispus), is found, but less 
commonly, on the coast of Syria. 

Quail {Coturnix communis; Hebrew, Sclav). — Quails are mentioned 
in the Bible only in connection with the miraculous supply of food which 
they formed for the Israelites upon two occasions, in the wilderness of 
Sin* and at Kibroth Hataavah.^ They are the smallest representatives 
of the partridge family and breed in numbers in Palestine. They 
arrive in vast flocks by niglit in March and a few remain throughout 
the winter. Their flesh is considered a delicacy. 

Eaven (Gorvus corax; Hebrew, Orcb). — The raven is the first bird 
mentioned by name in the Bible :*^ "And he sent forth a raven, and it 

' I Kings X, 22; II Chronicles ix, 21. 
2 Leviticus xi, 18; Deuteronomy xiv, 17. 

•' Isaiali xxxi V, 11 : " But the pelican and i)oronpine shall possess it ;" Zephaniah ii, 
14: "Both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the chapters thereof." 
"♦Exodns xvi, 13. 

•'"'Numbers xi, 31-32; compare Psalms Ixxviii, 27, and cv, 40. 
''> Genesis viii, 7. 



964 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth." 
It was forbidden for food.^ In several passages the raveu is referred 
to as illustrating the care with which God watches over his creatures.^ 
"He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.'" 
"Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto 
God, and wander for lack of meat."^ "Consider the ravens, that they 
sow not, neither reap ; which have no store chamber nor barn j and God 
feedeth them ; of how much more value are ye than the birds." The 
custom of the ravens of attacking the eyes of young or sickly animals 
is alluded to in Proverbs xxx, 17 : "The eye that mocketh at his father 
and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it 
out, and the young eagles shall eat it." The raven and allied species 
are abundant in Palestine. 

Sparrow (Passer domesticus ; Hebrew, ^ippor). — The Hebrew word 
gippor denotes birds in general, being used especially, however, of small 
birds. In the following passages it appears to refer to the sparrow in 
particular: Psalm Ixxxiv, 3: "The sparrow hath found her an house, 
and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young;" and 
Psalms cii, 7: "I watch, and become like a sparrow that is alone upon 
the house top." Jesus refers to the sparrow in illustration of God's 
benignant care of his creatures:^ "Are not two sparrows sold for a 
farthing? and not one of them shall fall to the ground without your 
Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not 
therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."^ Several species 
of the sparrow occur in great abundance in Palestine, especially on the 
Plain of Gennesareth. 

Black Stork {Ciconia nigra; Hebrew, Easidah). — The stork was 
accounted an unclean bird.'^ It is a migrant,^ "Yea, the stork in the 
heavens knoweth her appointed times," and built its nest in "the fir 
trees."^ The Hebrew name Hasidah means the kind, the pious one 
(Latin, pia avis), owing to the filial piety and devotion which was 
attributed by the ancients to this bird. 

The passage in Job xxxix, 13: "The wing of the ostrich rejoiceth, 
but her pinions and feathers are kindly (Hebrew, hasidahy is thought 
to contain an allusion to the stork, whose treatment of the young is so 
different from that of the hard-breasted ostrich. i*' 

Owing to this belief and to its feeding on noxious reptiles and insects 

1 Leviticus xi, 15 ; Deuteronomy xiv, 14. 

2 Psalms cxlvii, 9. 

3 Job xxxviii, 41. 
^ Luke xii, 24. 

5 Matthew X, 29-31. 

^ See also Luke xii, 6, 7. 

' Leviticus xi, 19; Deuteronomy xiv, 18. 

8 Jeremiah viii, 7. 

9 Psalms CIV, 17. 

10 1. M. Casanowicz Paronomasia in the Old Testament, p. 57. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 965 

the stork is a protected bird, and iu parts of Europe and the East there 
is a heavy fine for molesting either the storks or their nests. Both the 
black and the white stork ( Giconia alba) occur in Palestine, the latter 
chiefly in winter 5 the former a migrant, passing to the north. 

Swallow {Chelidon rustica; Hebrew, Sis, Sus, and Deror). — The 
swallow is referred to in Jeremiah viii, 7, as one of the birds which 
"observe the time of their coming." "As the sparrow in her wan- 
dering, as the swallow in her flying, so the curse that is causeless 
lighteth not."^ Psalms, Ixxxiv, 3: "Yea, the sparrow hath found her 
an house and the swallow a nest for herself." There are about half a 
dozen species of the swallow, and the closely allied martin, in Palestine. 
The common swallow abounds in the Mosque of Omar. 

Griffon vulture [Gyps fulvus). — As was stated above under eagle, 
the Hebrew Nesher, which is rendered in the English Bible "eagle" 
comprises large predatory birds in general. Thus in Jeremiah xlix, 16, 
and Job xxxix, 27-30, the "eagle" is referred to as making its nest in 
the highest cliffs. "O, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, 
that boldest the height of the hill ; though thou shouldest make thy nest 
as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the 
Lord": "Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest 
on high? She dwelleth on the rock, and hath her lodging there, upon 
the crag of the rock, and the strong hold." This is especially charac- 
teristic of the griffon vulture. The passage in Micah i, 16; "Make thee 
bald * * * enlarge thy baldness as the eagle" can only refer to the 
vulture, which is devoid of true feathers on the head and neck. The 
griffon vulture is most abundant in Palestine. It breeds in colonies of 
aeries, the most notable of which are at Wady Kelt near Jericho, 
Mount Nebo,in the gorges of the Jabbok and the Litany River, at Mount 
Oarmel, and in the valleys leading into the Plain of Genessareth. 

keptiles. 

But four specimens of the reptiles of the Bible were exhibited. 

Frog (Hebrew, ^efardea). — The frog is only mentioned in the Old 
Testament as the second plague inflicted on Egypt.^ In Revelations 
xvi, 13, unclean spirits are spoken of as being in the likeness of frogs, 
which come out of the mouth of the dragon. The edible frog {Bana 
esculenta) is the only species which at present occurs in Egypt. In 
Palestine are found the green toad {Bufo viridis), and less commonly 
the African toad {Bufo regularis). The little tree frog (Hyla arborea) 
is also common in Sinai and Palestine. 

Lizard. — Leviticus xi, 30, mentions the names of a number of animals 
which are included among the creeping things that creep upon the earth. 
The Leta'ah [Lacerta viridis and L. agilis) is the only one traditionally 
rendered by lizard ; but the present opinion is that the other names 

^ Proverbs xxvi, 2; compare Isaiah xxxviii, 14. 

2 Exodus viii, 2-14; compare Psalms Ixxvii, 45; cv, 30. 



966 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

are also kinds of lizards — the Revised Version furnishes this state- 
ment in the margin and translates great lizard, lizard, sand lizard, etc. 
The best lexicographical authority agrees with this view. Nor are we 
to be surprised at this number of words in Hebrew for lizard, since 
they are very abundant in Palestine, about forty species having been 
enumerated. Among the most common is the green lizard and its 
varieties. 

Viper ( Viper a aspis', Hebrew, JEf eh). — The generic name in Hebrew 
of any serpent is Nahash. The serpent is first mentioned in Genesis 
iii, 1, 13, where it is said to be more subtle than all the beasts of the 
field. Jesus alludes to the wisdom of the serpent,^ "Be ye therefore 
wise as serpents and harmless as doves." The diiferent species are 
referred to by various names — pethen, skejifon, al^shuh, and gif oni^ 
usually rendered by adder. The viper is mentioned in Isaiah xxx, 6j 
lix, 5; Job XX, 16: "The viper's tongue shall slay him," and often in 
the New Testament.^ It is assumed that the viper that fastened on 
the hand of the Apostle PauP was the Vipera aspis. Upward of thirty 
species have been found in Palestine. 

INSECTS. 

Six specimens of the insects of the Bible concluded the illustration 
of the Biblical fauna. 

Horsefly {RippoJjosca equina; Hebrew, AroJ)). — It is probable that 
the horsefly is meant by aroh (English versions, "swarms of flies," 
"divers sorts of flies"), sent as a plague upon Egypt.^ The rendering, 
"swarms of flies," as indicating a mixture of various insects, is very 
old, being found in the Talmud and in Jerome. The horsefly in Egypt 
settles on the human body, sucks blood, and produces festering sores. 
It is also the means of spreading ophthalmia. 

Breeze flies [Rcematopotaphir talis and Chrysops-coecutiens, Hebrew 
Zehub). — The name Zehuh occurs but twice in the Old Testament, Isaiah 
vii, 18, as a figure of swarming and troublesome armies coming from 
Egypt, "The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of 
the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria;" 
and Ecclesiastes x, 1, as corrupting ointment, "Dead flies cause the 
ointment of the i)erfumer to send forth a stinking savor; so doth a 
little folly outweigh wisdom and honor." A species of Tahanus or 
breeze fly is common in the valleys of the Jordan and the Nile, and is 
very injurious to animals; it attacks both man and beast.^ 

The Phenicians invoked against the flies Baalzebub,^ the lord of flies, 
the god of Ekron."^ 

^ Matthew x, 16. 

2 Matthew iiij 7. 

3 Acts xxviii, 3. 

■* Exodus vii, 21-31; compare Psalms Ixxviii, 45; cv^ 31. 

5 Hart, Animals of the Bible, p. 101, 102; compare also Smith Dictionary, see Baal. 

6 In the New Testament, Beelzebub, Matthew x, 25. 

UIKingsi, 2. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 967 

Sacred scarabaeus {Ateuchus sacer). — The Ateuchus was wor- 
shiped by the ancient Egyptians, and often represented by hiero- 
glyphics and on monuments. Models of them in the most precious 
materials were worn as charms and buried with mummies. The insects 
themselves have also been found in coffins. It may be that the worship 
of the scarabaeus in Egypt was in some way connected with that of 
Baalzebub, the lord of flies, in Ekron.^ 

Hornet ( Vespa orientalise Hebrew, ^irah). — Hornets are spoken of 
in the Bible as an instrument in God's hands for the punishment and 
expulsion of the Canaanites.^ "I will send the hornet before thee, 
which shall drive out the Hivite, the Oanaanite, and the Hittite from 
before thee."^ It is assumed by some that they are used figuratively 
for panic or terror. Hornets are abundant in Palestine, and were so 
in former times, as is perhaps indicated from the name of the city in 
Judah, yore' ah, "place of hornets." There are at present four species 
in Palestine; the most common is Vespa orientalis. 

Locust (Aeridium peregrinum; Hebrew, Arbeli). — Of all the "creep- 
ing creatures" the locust is most frequently mentioned in the Bible. It 
occurs under nine different names {hagah, hargol, sotam, gazam, 2/^?^^? 
hasilj gel) or gob, gelagal)^ which x^i'obably denote diiferent species. 
Locusts were one of the ten plagues inflicted on Egypt.'* They were 
permitted as food,'^ and were the chief food of John the Baptist.^ 
Among the Moorish Arabs they are held in high esteem as a stimulant, 
and in Central Arabia they are regarded as a dainty. Their appearance, 
habits, ravages, etc., are often referred to figuratively in the Scriptures 
as destructive armies, Nahum iii, 15-17: "Make thyself many as the 
locusts. * * * Thy crowned are as the locusts and thy marshals 
as the swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold 
day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not 
known where they are:"'^ "And the shapes of the locusts were like 
unto horses prepared for war * * *," etc. In Proverbs xxx, 27, they 
are enumerated among the "four things which are little upon the earth, 
but they are exceeding wise." " The locusts have no king, yet they go 
forth all of them by bands." 

Moth (Hebrew, Ash, Sas). — The destructiveness of the moth and its 
own extreme frailty are often referred to in the Bible as an illustration 
of the perishable nature of temporal things." "Behold they all shall 
wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up."^ "Lay not up for 

' II Kings i, 2. 

2 Exodus xxiii, 29; Deuteronomy vii, 20; Joshua xxiv, 12. 

3 Compare Deuteronomy vii, 20; Joshua xxiv, 12. 
* Exodus X. 

"'Leviticus xi, 20-22. 

''Matthew iii, 4; Mark i, 6. Compare above under ''Pods of the carob tree." 

'Proverbs xxx, 2; Revelation ix, 7. 

** Isaiah i, 9. 

■'Matthew vi, 19, 20. 



968 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth consume 
* * * V 1 u Youi riches are corrupted, and your garments are 
motheateu."^ "Whose foundation is in the dust, whicli are crushed 
before the moth," and "He buildeth his house as the moth."^ It is 
quite plain that at least in most of the passages the Tineidae, or clothes 
moths, are referred to. 

PALESTINIAN ANTIQUITIES. 

The next group consisted of a selection of objects from the antiquities 
and art of the peoples who were connected with the histor}^ told in the 
Scriptures. They were put on exhibition for the purpose of enabling 
the student or visitor to place himself in the position of one who lived 
in the times and the lands in which the books of the Bible were 
composed. 

Of monuments and relics found in Palestine itself, the following were 
shown : 

Oast of the Moabite stone. — In II Kings iii it is related that 
Mesha, the king of Moab, paid tribute to the kings of Israel, but that 
after the death of Ahab he rebelled. Thereupon Ahab's son, Jorara, 
allied with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, invaded Moab and shut up 
Mesha in Kir-Hareseth, situated a little to the east of the southern end 
of the Dead Sea. Mesha, in this emergency, offered his first born son 
as a sacrifice, in the presence of the invading army, to Ohemosh, the 
principal divinity of the Moabites; whereupon the Israelites withdrew. 
Thus far the Biblical account. 

In 1868 the Eev. A. F. Klein, a German missionary, discovered at 
Dhiban, the ruins of Dibon, the ancient capital of Moab,^ a stone or stela 
with an inscription celebrating the achievements of Mesha. It was of 
dark blue basalt, 3 feet 8^ inches high, 2 feet 3J inches wide, and 1 foot 
1.78 inches thick, rounded at both ends and inscribed with thirty-four 
lines. The stone was in possession of the Beni Humaydah, a wild 
Arab tribe east of the Jordan. The Arabs, considering the stone so 
eagerly sought after by Europeans to be possessed of supernatural 
power, lit a fire under it and then threw cold water upon it, breaking 
it into fragments, which were distributed as charms among the different 
families of the tribe. M. Clermont Oanneau, at that time chancellor of 
the French consulate, had, previous to the breaking of the stone, been 
so fortunate as to obtain a paper impression of the entire inscription. 
Afterwards by careful work he succeeded in collecting most of the 
fragments, so that six- sevenths of the inscription has been preserved 
and two-thirds of the stone itself is now in the Louvre at Paris. 

In the inscription Mesha relates that Omri and Ahab had oppressed 
the land of Moab for many years, until he recovered several cities from 

1 James v, 2. ^ JqIj xxvii, 18. 

2 Job iV; 18; ly. 4 Numbers xxi, 30; xxxii, 34; Isaiah xv, 2. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 969 

the Israelites, mentioning Medeba,' Ataroth,^ and Nebo,-^ wbere be slew 
7,000 people and captured Jabaz, which had been built by the King of 
Israel. At the conclusion he also mentions a battle against Horonaim, 
which is generally interpreted as referring to a successful war with the 
Edomites who might have invaded the country from the south. It will 
thus be seen that the contents of tliis comparatively brief historical 
document add considerably to our knowledge of the happenings in the 
ancient world in the ninth century B. C. The dialect of the inscrip- 
tion differs but slightly from Hebrew, and the characters employed are 
those of ancient Hebrew, the so-called Samaritan or Phenician. Aside 
from its historical interest just mentioned, the Moabite stone is the 
most important surviving relic of the Moabite civilization. It is the 
oldest monument bearing a Semitic inscription, and its discovery was 
of great importance for the history of the development of the alphabet, 
proving, as it does, that the Greeks added nothing to the alphabet 
which they received from the East.^ 

Cast of the Siloam inscription. — The pool or fountain of Siloam, 
Hebrew, Shitoah, i. e,, "sending,-' is mentioned in Isaiah viii, 6; "the 
waters of Shiloah that go softly"^ where Jesus sends a blind man to 
wash in the pool "and he came seeing." It is at the southeast end of 
Jerusalem and was fed by the waters of a spring of the Gihon, the 
modern fountain of the Virgin, with which it is connected by a winding 
tunnel, cut for a distance of 1,708 feet through the solid rock. 

The Siloam inscription was accidentally discovered in June, 1880, by 
a schoolboy, who, while i)laying with other boys near the pool of 
Siloam and wading up a channel cut in the rock which leads into the 
pool, slipped and fell into the water. On rising to the surface he 
noticed what looked like letters on the wall of the channel; this fact he 
reported to Mr. Schick, the well-known architect and archseologist of 
Jerusalem. Mr. Schick announced the discovery to the German Pales- 
tine Exploration Society (Deutscher Palaestina Yerein), and with much 
labor made copies during the winter of 1880-81, which were sent to Eu- 
rope. Owing, however, to the fact that the characters had become tilled 
with a deposit of lime these copies were practically unintelligible.*' 

1 Numbers xxi, 30; Joshua xiii, 9, etc. 

2 Numbers xxxii, 34; Joshua xvi, 2, etc. 

^Numbers xxxii, 3; Isaiah xv, 2, etc. 

''The inscriptiou has been translated by Noeldeke, Ginsburg, Ganneau, Schlott- 
mauii, W. Hayes Ward, Wright, Smeud, and Socin, Die Inschrift des Koeuigs Mesa 
von Moab, Freiburg, 1886, and Canon Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books 
of Samuel, with an Introduction on Hebrew Paleography, and the Ancient Versions 
and Facsimiles of Inscriptions, Oxford and New York, 1890, pp. Ixxxi v-xciv ; compare 
also A. H. Sayce, Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, p. 91. 

^'Nehomiab iii, 15, and John ix, 7. 

''A curious controversy has arisen as to the credit for the work of lowering the 
level of the water in the clianuol to render the inscription accessible. Dr. Guthe, 
in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgeuliindischen Grsidlschaft, XXXVI, ]). 720, 
claims that it was done at the expense of the (Jerman ralestine l''.xi)l()ratiou Society ; 
■while the same claim is made for the London l^alestine Exploration Fund. Quar- 
terly Statement, 1881, p. 142; 1882, )>. 1. 



970 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

The first legible copies were made by Prof. A. H. Sayce, who came 
to Jerusalem in February, 1881. He spent three afternoons in the 
tunnel, sitting in water 4 to inches deep, the conduit being dimly 
lighted by a candle held by his companion, Mr. Slater.' Another copy 
was independently made by the Rev. W. T. Filter. 

In March, 1881, Dr. Guthe, head of the German Palestine Explora- 
tion Society, went to Jerusalem, and after making as exact a drawing 
as possible of the inscription as it stood, he removed the lime deposit 
by the application of hydrochloric acid. This rendered feasible the 
taking of an adequate impression of the inscription. Squeezes and 
plaster impressions were subsequently made by Dr. Guthe, Lieuts. 
Claude R. Oonder and Mantel.^ 

In 1891 the Siloam inscription was cut out of its place in the tunnel 
and carried away. It was found in the house of a Greek living near 
Jerusalem on the Hebron road, and the fact reported to the authorities 
at Constantinople. The Turkish law makes all monuments public 
property, and the minister of public instruction ordered the inscrip- 
tion sent to Constantinople. So important, however, was the matter 
deemed that it was considered at a council of ministers, and a peremp- 
tory telegram was sent by the Grand Vizier to the Pasha of Jerusalem 
to use all means to secure possession of this priceless monument and 
forward it with dispatch to the capital.^ This action had the desired 
result and the Siloam inscription is now preserved at the Imperial 
Museum in Constantinople. 

The contents of the inscription, which consists of six lines, are as 
follows: "Behold the excavation! And this was the manner of the 
excavation, while [the excavators] were lifting up the pick, each to his 
neighbor, and while 3 cubits [of rock remained] the voice of one called 
to his fellow- workman, for there was a fissure in the rock on the right 
hand. * * * And on the day [or, to the west] of the excavation 
the excavators struck, each so as to meet his fellow, pick against pick, 
and there flowed the water from the source to the pool through the 
space of 1,000 cubits, and * * * cubit was the height of the rock 
over the head of the excavation." 

The inscription would seem to show that the work of excavation was 
undertaken simultaneously from both ends by two gangs of workmen, 
and that for want of engineering skill the borings overlapped. 

Judging by the form of the letters the inscription must have origi- 
nated between the eighth and sixth centuries. The most generally 
accepted opinion is, that it dates from the reign of Hezekiah, and is 
referred to in II Chronicles xxxii, 4 and 30: '^ So there was gathered 
much people together, and they stopped all the fountains, and the 
brook that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, why should 

1 Quarterly Statement, 1881, p. 143. 

2 Quarterly Statement, 1881, p. 285 ; 1882, p. 123. 

•■'The above account is written from i)er80ual knowledge. For a slightly dilFerent 
account see Quarterly Statement, 1891, pp. 2, 88 : 1894, pp. 271, 272. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 971 

the kings of Assyria come and find mucli water!" and ^^This same 
Hezeldah also stopped the upper springs of the waters of Gihon, and 
brought them straight down on the west side of the City of David." 
It is certainly one of the oldest known Hebrew inscriptions.^ 

Oast of the Lachish tablet. — Lachish was one of the capitals 
of the Canaanites, situated southeast of Jerusalem, between Gaza and 
Eleutheropolis. It was conquered by Joshua.^ The Assyrian King 
Sennacherib besieged it during his invasion of Judah, 701 B. 0.,^ and, 
according to the Assyrian inscriptions, captured it. An interesting 
Assyrian relief represents Sennacherib seated on a throne receiving 
the tribute of his captives and vassals, accompanied by an inscription 
containing the statement that the decree was enacted at Lachish. 
Later on it succumbed to Nebuchadnezzar. The ruins of ancient Lach- 
ish, now called Tell el-Hesy, have been explored during the last few 
years by the Palestine Exploration Fund, and in 1892 Dr. F. Jones 
Bliss, an American archaeologist in charge of the work, discovered 
there a small clay tablet, inscribed with cuneiform characters, and in a 
Semitic dialect akin to the Aramaic. The inscription dates before the 
conquest of Palestine by the Israelites, and contains a letter from the 
chief of the territory adjoining Lachish, probably to the governor of 
Lachish, complaining that marauders from the neighboring region are 
besetting Atim, which is probably identical with Etam, in the soutb of 
Judah, mentioned in I Chronicles iv, 32, and Samhi or Sam'a, now 
probably represented by the large ruin of Sam'ah, 5 miles to the south of 
Etam. The original is now in possession of the Turkish Government.* 

Oast of the seal of HAGaAi, son of Shebaniah. — The origi- 
nal seal of black stone was found in 1857 by Sir Oharles Warren, near 
the Haram-esh-Sherif, the mosque of Omar on the site of the temple 
at Jerusalem.^ The names Haggai and Shebaniah, which the seal 
bears, have not been identified. They are possibly connected with the 
rebuilding of the temple after the exile. 

The use of seals or signet rings is already mentioned in the Patri- 
archal epoch.'^ The seal was either hung on a string around the neck 

1 E. J. Pilcher, in the Proceediugs of the Biblical Archaeology Society, XIX, pp. 165- 
182, would place the Siloam inscription as late as the time of Herod I (47-4 B. C); 
compare, however, the arguments for the usual date of about 700 B. C. by Lieut. Col. 
C. R. Conder in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, 1897, pp. 204-208. 
Compare Idem, 1881, pp. 141-157, 282-297; 1894, pp. 269-277; Canon Driver, Notes on 
the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, etc., pp. xiv. The '' Higher Criticism '' and 
the Verdict of the Monuments by A. H. Sayce, 2d. ed., LondoD, 1894, p. 376. 

2 Joshua X, 3,31 and 32. 

3 II Kings xviii and xix; Isaiah xxxvi and xxxvii. 

'^A. H. Sayce, Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1893, pp. 25-30, 
and C. R. Conder, The Tell Amarna Tablets, pp. 131-134. 

^'See the Recovery of Jerusalem, by Captain Wilson, R. E., Captain Warren, R. E., 
with an introduction by Arthur Peuryhn Stanley, edited by Walter Morrison, New 
York, 1871, pp. 95, 385. 

'■Genesis xxxviii, 18. E. J. Pilcher in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical 
Arch;('ok)gy, xix, p. 172, attributes the seal to the time of Herod I (37-4 B. C), because 
it was found at the base of the temple wall. 



972 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

or worn iu rmgs on the finger;^ "thoiigli Coniali, the son of Jehoiakim, 
King of Judah, were the signet upon my right hand, yet I would pluck 
thee hence." The seal was used for signing letters and documents.^ 
"So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal;" 
for sealing purses.^ "My transgression is sealed up in a bag," doors 
and the like.^ "So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the 
stone." The custom of making an impression with the seal upon the 
forehead of a person is alluded to in the Epistle to the Galatians vi, 
17: "I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus," and Kevelations 
vii, 3 and 4: "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we 
shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 

Biblical weights. — The weights (like the measures) of the 
Hebrews are usually traced to the Babylonian system, which is con- 
sidered the parent of other oriental systems. The unit of the Hebrew 
weights was the shekel ; the other weights were either its multiples or 
fractions. The weights mentioned in the Bible are as follows: Talent^ 
(Mklar), equals 60 minas or 3,600 shekels, equal to about 674,000 grains 
Troy; mina^ {maneh), equals 60 shekels, equal to about 11,000 grains 
Troy; shekel (sheqel), equal to about 220 grains, one-twentieth [gerali) 
of a shekel,'^ or about 11 grains.^ Scales, mo^znayim, consisted of a 
beam resting at its central point on a standard, and having suspended 
from its two ends two scales or basins in which the weights and the 
substances to be weighed were placed respectively,^ Alongside of the 
moznayim there is also mentioned ^^eZes,^" which is assumed to answer to 
the modern steelyard, also called Eoman balance or beam, consisting 
of a lever in the form of a slender iron bar with one arm very short, 
the other divided by equidistant notches, having a small cross piece as 
a fulcrum to which a bearing for suspension is attached, usually a hook 
at the short end, and a weight moving upon the long arm. The weights 
themselves were called in the Hebrew " stones," rendered "weights'' 
in the English versions. 

Oast of an ancient Hebrew weight. — The original, which is of 
hematite, was obtained by Dr. Th. Chaplin, in Samaria. The weight is 
spindle shaped, somewhat flattened on one side, and weighs about 40 
grains. It has on both sides a Hebrew legend, which is interpreted to 
mean " Quarter of a quarter of neyeg," which may have been a stand- 
ard weight in Palestine." 

1 Jeremiah xxii, 24. 
• 2 1 Kings xxi, 8. 

3 Job xiv, 17. 

4 Matthew xxvii, 66. 

^I Kings ix, 14; x, 10, 14; II Kings v, 23. Compare Matthew xviii, 24. 
'^Ezekielxlv, 12. 

^Exodus XXX, 13; Leviticus xxvii, 25; Ezekiei xlv, 12. 
^Psalms Ixii, 9; Proverbs xi, I; xvi, II; xx, 23; Job vi, 2; xxxi, 6. 
9E. C. Bissell, Biblical Antiquities, Philadelphia, 1888. 
1" Isaiah si, 12; Proverbs xvi, II. 

"Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1890, p. 267; 1894, pp. 220-231, 
28i-287. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 973 

Cast of a bead. — The original, a reddish perforated yellow stone, 
was obtained by Prof. T. F. Wright, in Jerusalem. It weighs 134 
grains, and is inscribed with the word neQeg in the same characters as 
those of the Siloam inscription. It was probably used as a weight, 
and the inscription may mean " standard weight." ^ 

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 

As of great general interest for the history of culture there was 
shown a collection of musical instruments mentioned in the Bible, sup- 
plemented by photographs and casts of representations of musical 
instruments on ancient monuments. Scarcely any authentic informa- 
tion is preserved coiicerning the shape or the manner of i)laying on 
the musical instruments named in the Bible. The instruments exhibited 
were such as are now in use iu the Oriental countries. But it may be 
assumed that the musical instruments of the Hebrews resembled those 
of the nations with which they came in contact, and that, considering 
the stability and conservatism of the East, the instruments still used 
in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt differ but little, if at all, from those 
employed in ancient times. 

It is well known that music occupies an important place in the Bible. 
Its invention is recorded in the opening chfl)i)ters of the Scriptures, 
where Jubal is named as the "father (i. e., founder) of all such as handle 
the harp and pipe."^ From the earliest times music was of high impor- 
tance among the Israelites, accompanying all the great national events 
and adorning the festal occasions. The hymn of thanksgiving after the 
deliverance from the bondage of Egypt and the passing through the 
Bed Sea^ was accompanied by the sound of timbrels and by dances of 
a choir of women led by the prophetess Miriam."^ The solemnity of the 
giving of the law on Sinai was enhanced by the sound of the horn or 
shofaVj^ and the same instrument is mentioned at the capture of Jericho, 
the first conquest made in the Promised Land.^ The sound of trumpets 
and of the horn announced and inaugurated the great festivals and the 
year of "Jubilee."'^ 

But music also permeated the common daily life in Israel, and the 
absence of the "mirth of tabrets" and the "joy of the harp" was one of 
the signs of a national calamity.*^ It was the pastime of the shepherd ^'^ 
it formed the principal attraction of the social gatherings of youth at 
the city gates j '" it heightened the mirth at the festivals of the harvest 



1 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1893, pp. 32, 257. 

2 Hebrew, Kinnor and ' Ugah, Genesis iv, 21. 
^Exodns XV. 

" Verse 20. 

f* Exodus xix, 16,19. 

'^ Joshua vi, 5. 

''^Numbers x, 10; xxix, 1; Leviticus xxv, 8,9. 

"Isaiah xxiv, 8; Lamentation v, 14. 

n Samuel xvi, 18. 

^^ Lamentation v, 14. 



974 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

and vintage ; ' it contributed to the pleasure and festivity of tbe banquet ;^ 
the victors in battle were received on their return with "singing, dan- 
cing, and timbrels."^ In short, music seems to have been the indispen- 
sable accompaniment of every public occasion, whether joyous or sad."* 

But it was in religious worship that music attained its highest 
development in Israel, and it is to the time of David that the extensive 
use of music in religious service, both vocal and instrumental, was 
ascribed. From the 38,000 Levites 4,000 were elected and organized 
under 288 leaders into a chorus and orchestra to provide for the music 
of the sanctuary. The 288 classes were separated into 42 divisions 
under the sons of Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman, as masters, and the 
entire chorus and orchestra was under the direction of Asaph, 
Jeduthun, and Heman." These sanctuary musicians also officiated at 
the dedication of the temple by Solomon.^ Under the later idolatrous 
kings it may be assumed that the music, like the worship of the temple, 
was often neglected. It is, on the other hand, especially mentioned 
that the pious kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, gave much attention to the 
musical services of the temple."^ It was employed at the restoration of 
the temple and the walls of Jerusalem after the return from the exile ;^ 
and from post-biblical writings, CL^pecially Josephus, it is known that it 
continued to form a prominent feature of Jewish worship. 

The musical instruments mentioned in the Bible may be divided, 
after the usual classifications, into the following groups: 

(1) Instruments of percussion, which were beaten or shaken to pro- 
duce sound for the purpose of regulatiijg the rhythmic element in 
music. These instruments were presumably the first used, and are 
still common among the less cultivated peoples. 

(2) Wind instruments. 

(3) String instruments, which were always played with the fingers or 
with the plectrum, and not, like the modern violin, with a bow. 

Of the instruments mentioned in the Bible, two — the ram's horn and 
the trumpet — are commanded to be used for sacred purposes.^ These 
two instruments are also the only ones concerning whose shape there 
is absolute certainty. 

Of the trumpet there is a representation extant on the Arch of Titus 
at Eome, while there is no doubt that the ram's horn which is still used 
in the synagogue has conserved its antique form.^° 

1 Isaiali xvi, 10. 

2 Isaiah, v, 12; Amos vi, 5; II Samuel xix, 35. 

3 Exodus XV, 21; Judges xi, 34; I Samuel xviii, 6. 

^Genesis xxxi, 27; Luke xv, 25; II Cliroiiicles xxxv, 25; Matthew ix, 23; Jeremiah 
ix, 17, 18, and 19. 

'I Chronicles xxiii, 5; xxv, 7. 

•^11 Chronicles v, 12, 13. 

"II Chronicles xxix, 25; xxxv, 15. 

^Ezra 111, 10, 11; Nehemiah xi, 17, 22; xii, 28. 

^Leviticus xxiii, 24; xxv, 9; Numbers x, 2. 

'"Johann Weiss, Die musikalischen Instrumente in den Heiligen Schriften des 
Alten Testamentes, Gratz, 1895. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 1 




Fig. 1. Castanets. 

(Cat. i^o. 95174, U. S. N. M. Beirut, Syria. Collected by Erhard Bessinger, U. &. Consul.) 

Fig. 2. Cymbals (meciltayim). 

(Cat. No. 95173, U. S. N. M. Cairo, Egypt. Collected by Louis B. Grant, U. S. Vice-Consul.) 

Fig, 3. Round Tabret (tof). 

(Cat. :N^o. 95151, U. S. IST. M. Beirut, Syria. Collected by Erhard Bissinger, U. S. Consul.) 

Fig. 4. Four-sided Tabret. 

(Cat. No. 95779, TJ. S. N. M, Morocco, Africa. Collected by Dr. Talcott Williams.) 

Fig. 5. Kettle-drum. 

(Cat. Xo. 95175, U. S. N. M. Cairo, Egypt. Collected by Louis B. Grant, U. S. Vice-Consul.) 



Report of U. S National Museum, 1 896. - Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 1. 








EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 975 

The instruments exhibited, of which illustrations are given here, 
were as follows: 

I.— INSTRUMENTS OF PERCUSSION. 

(1) EouND TABRET, Hand-drum (Hebrew, Tof). — From Beirut, 
Syria, where it is caUed rikk. (See plate 1, fig. 3.) The Arabic name 
duff agrees with the Hebrew, and is the parent of the Spanish, aduffa. 

The tabret or timbrel is mentioned in Genesis xxxi, 27. Its use sur- 
vived from the earliest time to the present day m Asia, Greece, and 
Italy. On old Grecian monuments the tabret is seen in the hands 
of Bacchantes and priests of Cybele. On the Egyptian sculptures two 
forms of the tabret are represented, the round and the four-sided. 
The use of the striker seems not to have been known in antiquity. 
The tabret was beaten with the hand and was suspended from the 
neck by a ribbon. Later modifications of the tabret resemble our 
drum and the kettle-drum. The use of the tabret was confined to joy- 
ous occasions. It served with other instruments of song^ to accentuate 
the rhythm of the dance.^ It was played mostly by women, accompany- 
ing the harp and lute, at joyous feasts,^ at the reception of victorious 
generals, "^ at banquets,' and at weddings.*" In solemn processions it was 
also played by men."^ The tabret is not mentioned among the instru- 
ments used in the religious services of the tabernacle or temple. 

(2) Four-sided tabret, Morocco, Africa. (See plate 1, fig. 4.) 

(3) Kettledrum (Arabic, Naggarah), Cairo, Egypt. (See plate 1, 
fig. 5.) — The kettledrum is made either of wood or copper, one side 
being rounded, the other flat, on which the skin (of a goat or gazelle) is 
stretched. It is now used in military bands, orchestras, and short solo 
passages. It is also employed by the dervishes to produce excitement 
in their devotions. The kettledrum is sounded with blows from a soft- 
headed, elastic mallet, stick, or a leather thong. 

(4) Cymbals (Hebrew, Megiltayim, (Jelgelim). (See plate 1, fig. 2.) 
These two Hebrew words, which are usually considered identical, are 
plainly onomatopoeic. Though it is hardly likely that they indicated 
the same instrument, we have at present no certain method of dif- 
ferentiating them. Megiltayim is almost invariably in the dual form, 
which indicates two similar parts, and in one passage '^ the material of 
which they were made, copper or brass, is named. Cymbals are 
mentioned only in connection with religious ceremonies.^ 



' Genesis xxxi, 27 ; Psalms Ixxxi, 2. 

^Exodus XV, 20; Judges xi, 34; I Samuel xviii, 6; Jeremiah xxxi, 4; Psalms cl, 4. 
•''Isaiah xxiv, 8; xxx, 32; Job xxi, 12. 
'•Judges xi, 34; I Samuel xviii, 6. 
^Isaiah v, 12, 
'T Maccabees ix, 39. 

^11 Samuel vi, 5, and I Chronicles xiii, 8. 
"I Chronicles xv, 19. 

^11 Samuel vi, 5; I Chronicles xiii, 8; xv, 16, 19, 28; xvi.f), 42; xxv, l,(i; II Chron- 
icles v, 12, 13 ; xxix,25; Ezraiii, 10; Nehemiah xii, 27; I'salms cl, 5. 



976 REPORT OF NATIONAL ML'SEUM, 1896. 

The cymbals uow used in the Orient are much like those depicted 
on the Egyx^tian and Assyrian monuments. They consisted of two 
large plates of metal with wide, 11 at rims, and were played by being 
strapped to the hands and clashed together. Others were conical, or 
cup-like, with thin edges, and were played by bringing down the one 
shari^ly on the other, while held stationary, elici4:ing a high-pitched 
note. Cymbals were made of brass, and it is probable that they were 
the first among musical instruments made of metal. They were repre- 
sented by a specimen liom Cairo. Egypt, called by the Arabs Ka^s. 

(5) CASTA^^ETS. — (See ])hite 1, fig. 1.) Some scholars apply the 
Hebrew names for cymbals, (^elgelim and Me^-iJtai/irn, which denote a 
jingling sound, also to castanets; others think these are meant by the 
^ilgele-stema (E. Y. "Loud cymbals'') Psalms cl, 5. But this is by no 
means certain. 

II.— WIXD IXSTROIEXTS. 

(1) Eam's HORN (Hebrew, Shofar). (See plate 2, fig. 2.)— The Shofar, 
in the English versions usually inaccurately translated trumpet, or 
even more inaccurately cornet, is first mentioned in the Bible in con- 
nection with the giving of the law on Sinai. ^ Its use is ordered in the 
Pentateuch for the announcement of the new moon and solemn feasts^ 
and the proclamation of the year of release.^ Xew Year's Day (the 
first of the seventh month, or Tislrri) is called a "memorial day of 
blowing."^ The Shofar also served in religious processions,^ and is 
mentioned, along with other musical instruments as a proper accom- 
paniment of psalmody: "Piaise Him with the blowing of the shofar, 
praise Him with the psaltery and harp.*'® But the most ancient and most 
frequent use of the shofar was for military purposes, to give the signal 
for the rallying of the people and for attacking and pursuing the 
enemy. Animal horns were similarly used in the Eoman army.' The 
shofar is not only the sole instrument of those mentioned in the Bible 
which is still employed by the Jews in their religious services of the 
synagogue during the penitential month of JEJ21I (July-August), on 
^'ew Year's Hay, or Bosh ha-Shanah. the first of Tishri (Angust-Sep- 
tember), and on Atonement Day, or Yam Kii^pur, the tenth of Tishri^ 
but is also, according to authorities on musical instruments, the oldest 
form of wind instrument known to be retained in use. It is usually 
made of a ram's horn, though the goat's horn is also employed.^ 

^ Exodus xix, 16; xs. 18. 

2 Numbers x. 10 : compare Psalms Ixxxi, 4. 

3 Leviticus xxv. 9. 

^ Leviticus xxiii, 21 ; Number xxix. 1. 

^ II Samuel vi. 15 ; I Chronicles xv, 28. 

•^Psalms cl. 3; compare xcviii, 6. 

■ Yarro, De linofua Latina v, 117; ea (comua) quae nunc sunt ex aere. tunc fiebant e 
bubulo cornu. 

'^ Cyrus Adler, "The Shofar, its use and origin (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI, pp. 
287-301; Report U. S. Xat. Mus., 1892, pp. 137-450). 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 2, 




Fig. 1. Eeed8 or Pan pipes. 

(Cat. No. 95705, U. S. N. M. Cairo, Egypt. Collectefl by Dr. G. Brown Goode.) 

Fig. 2. Ram's HoRisr {shofar). 

(Cat. No. 95142, TJ. S. N. M. Deposited by Dr. Cyrus Adler.) 

Fig. 3. Double Flute. 

(Cat. No. 95654, V. S. N. M. Betblehem, Palestine. Collected by Dr. G. Brown Goode.) 

Fig. 4. Flute (lialil). 

(Cat. No. 95695, U. S.N. M. Damascus, Syria. Collected by Dr. G. Brown Goode.) 



Report of U S National Museum, 1 896 — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 2 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 977 

(2) Trumpet (Hebrew, Hagogerah), Morocco, where it is called n^feer. 
(See plate 3.) — Tlie trumpet was expressly designed in tlie Pentateuch 
for sacred uses, two being ordered to be made of silver/ while Solomon 
increased their number to one hundred and twenty.^ It was almost 
exclusively a priestly instrument.^ Its primary use was for giving sig- 
nals for the people to assemble.'* Later it was appropriated to religious 
services^ and festive occasions.*' According to the representation on 
the Arch of Titus, the trumpet was narrow and straight, with a ball-like 
protuberance at the bottom. It was represented by its modern survival, 
the n^eer of Morocco. The instrument itself was supplemented by a 
photograph of the Arch of Titus. (See plate 5.) 

(3) Flute or pipe (Hebrew, Halil; Kevised Version, flute.) Dam- 
ascus, Syria. (See plate 2, fig. 4.) The pipe or flute, now called in 
Syria Shubab, was a favorite instrument of the ancients. In its simplest 
form it was a reed or variety of wood in the shape of a reed, about 18 
inches in length, bored throughout evenly, and pierced with holes in 
the sides for notes. Later, even ivory was employed. A variety of 
flutes are exhibited in the representations of Egyptian, Oriental, and 
Grecian musical instruments. They may be divided into simple flutes, 
which were either direct or transverse double flutes with even or uneven 
tubes, and those with several tubes. 

The invention of the simple flute is ascribed by the Greeks to the 
Egyptians;'^ that of the transverse flute likewise to the Egyptians,^ 
or to the Lybians.^ The double flute is seen on Egyptian and Assyrian 
monuments. Among the Greeks and Eomans the flute was played by 
the Bacchants, at funerals, and also at festive banquets. The Lacedae- 
monians, Cretans, and Lybians used it also for military purposes. In 
the Bible the flute is not mentioned among the musical instruments of 
the Temple 5 but it was employed on various festal occasions — at the 
accession of Solomon to the throne^*' and other festivities,^^ as well as at 
funerals.^^ According to post Biblical sources of information, flutes 
were used in the daily service of the second temple. ^^ 

(4) Double flute, Bethlehem, Palestine. (See plate 2, fig. 3.) 
This instrument is assumed by some to represent the ISumponiah (sym- 

1 Numbers x, 1-10. 

2 11 Chronicles v, 12. 

3 Numbers x, 2-10; xxxi, 6; II Chronicles xiii, 12, 14. 

** See Numbers x, 5, 6, where the manner of blowing is specified, so as to indicate the 
different signals intended. 

^11 Kings xii, 13; II Chronicles xiii, 12, 14. 

^Psalms xcviii, 6; Ezra iii, 10; II Kings xi, 14; II Chronicles xxiii, 13. 

^ Athenajus IV, p. 175. 

^Idem, p. 185. 

9 Pollux, IV, 84. 
i*^ I Kings i, 40. 

'^I Samuel x, 5; Isaiah xxx, 29; Revelation xviii, 22. 
'^Mritthewix, 23. 

'■^Talmud Eracliin, lOa; Tacitus, llistoria'., v, 5. 
NAT MUS 9G G2 



978 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

phoDy) in Daniel iii, 5, 10, 15. The Authorized and Revised Versions 
give dulcimer, tliougli the margin of the latter gives bagpipe. EngeP 
says that the Italian peasantry still call a bagpij^e Zampogna^ and 
according to the last edition of Geseuius Sanihonjo and Zampogna have 
also persisted in Asia Minor. Snmponiali is supposed by some to be a 
translation of the Hebrew 'ugah^ though the latter possibly represents 
pan pipes. 

(5) Eeeds or pan pipes, Cairo, Egypt. (See plate 2, fig. 1.) The 
reeds now called in Egypt safafir are probably the Hebrew 'ugah? 
They were known to the Greeks under the name of syrinx (Latin fis- 
tula). There was shown in addition to the Egyptian instrument an 
Assyrian bas-relief representing a flute player. (See plate 3.) 

(6) BAaPiPE, represented by an instrument from Tunis, Africa, 
where it is called zaida, i^ossibly Aramaic Sumponiah mentioned in 
Daniel iii, 5, 10. (See plate 6.) The bagpii)e originated in the East, and 
was known to the Greeks and Eomans.^ It was popular throughout 
the middle ages and is still used in many eastern countries and among 
the country people of Poland, Italy, the south of France, and in Scot- 
land and Ireland. 

III.— STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. 

(1) Harp. — The Hebrew word Kinnor^ which is adopted for harp, 
occurs in the opening chapters of the Bible.* It was the especial 
instrument of David.' Later it was one of the important instruments 
of the Temple orchestra,*^ being one of the instruments most frequently 
mentioned in the Bible.' To judge from representations on Egyptian 
monuments and Jewish coins of the second century B. 0., the Kinnor 
resembled the Greek Kithara more than the modern trigonal harp, a 
theory corroborated by the fact that the Hebrew Kinnor is usually 
rendered Kithara (uidapa) by the Septuagint, the oldest Greek version 
of the Old Testament. Jewish coins show lyres with three, five, and 
six strings. 

A similar instrument was also in use among the Assyrians. In its 
smaller form it could easily be carried about in processions, as the rep- 
resentations on the monuments, both Egyi)tian and Assyrian, show. 
(A photograph of a relief of an Assyrian harp player was exhibited. 
See plate 7.) 

(2) Psaltery or Dulcimer (Hebrew, Xebel). (See plate 8.) I^ext 
to the harp (kinnor) and mostly in conjunction with it, the psaltery is 

1 Musical Instruments, p. 23. 

2 Genesis iv, 2L 

3 It Tvas introduced in Rome in the imperial period under the name of tibia utricti- 
laris or chorus and soon obtained great popularity. (Compare Seneca, Epistol, 7U.) 

* Genesis iv, 21. 

5 I Samuel xvi, 23. 

6 I Chronicles xv, 16; II Chronicles xxix, 2.5. 

" Genesis xxxi, 27: Isaiah xxiii, 16; Psalms xxxiii, 2; xliii, 4; Job xxi, 12. 



Report of U, S. National Museum, 1896.-Adler and Casanov 



Plate 3. 



Trumpet. 

Morocco, Africa. 

Cat. No. 95280, U.S.N.M. Collected by Dr. Talcott Williams. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 4. 




Assyrian Bas-relief representing a Flute Player. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 
Cat. No. 180218, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1 896.— Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 5. 



> 

o 

I 

o 



c 

CO 

> 

H 
O 



O 

H 

C 



H 
I 
m 

H 
n 

r- 
m 

o 




Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 6. 




Bagpipe. 

Tunis, Africa. 

Cat. No. 9.5141, U.S.N. M. Collected by Dr. Cyrus Adler. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896.— Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 7. 






**>M*MM>««MN« 



Assyrian Bas-relief showing Harp Players. 

Original in British Museum. 
Collection U. S. National Museum. 



I 



Report of (J. S. National Museum, 1896.— Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 8. 




HiTTiTE Lute Player. 

Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. 15.'50]r), U.S.N.M. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 979 

most frequently mentioned in the Bible. It is likely that the psaltery 
resembled what is now known in the East as the tamboora or guitar, 
an instrument which also figures largely on the Egyptian and Assyrian 
monuments. In its present shape the psaltery is thus described : " In 
its most complete and perfect form this instrument is 3 feet 9 inches 
long, has ten strings of fine wire and forty-seven stops. It is played 
with a plectrum, and is often inlaid with mother of- pearl and valuable 
woods. It is oftener, however, of smaller size and less costly mate- 
rials."^ Others assume that the nehel resembled the harp-shaped instru- 
ments seen on Assyrian monuments. In Psalms xxxiii, 2, nehel asor, the 
" nehel of ten," probably ten strings, is mentioned. This would curiously 
agree in detail with the instrument described above. Engel ^ assumes 
that there is an independent instrument called the asor, which is sup- 
ported by Psalms xcii, 3, '^ with an instrument of ten strings, and with 
the psaltery."^ 

PRECIOUS STONES OF THE BIBLE. 

The use of precious stones for ornament, as well as with engrav- 
ing for signets and the like, was well known to all of the Mediterranean 
peoples, and quite a goodly number of them are mentioned in the Bible. 

The engraving of signets upon hard stones was practiced at an early 
period. The Israelites may have acquired the art from the Egyptians, 
who are known to have made use of the lapidary's wheel and emery 
powder, and are supposed to have been acquainted with the diamond 
and the method of engraving other stones by means of it. The 
Assyrians and Babylonians were very skillful in engraving on gems, 
many of which have been found in the ruins of their palaces and cities. 

The sources for the names of gems in the Bible are three almost 
identical lists: 

I. The description of the High Priest's ^'breastplate of judgment" 
[JiosJien ha-mishpat), in which were jjlaced, in gold setting, four rows of 
precious stones, three in each row, engraved with the names of the 
twelve tribes of Israel.* 

II. The description of the ornaments of the King of Tyre."^ 

III. The description of the foundation of the Heavenly City.'' 

In many instances the exact equivalent of the biblical names of 
precious stones is uncertain in the nonienclature of modern mineralogy. 
In the following tables are given, alongside of the original and the 
Septuagint, the meaning adopted by most authorities, the rendering 

' Van Lennep, Bible Lands, p. 612. 

2 Musical Instruments, p. 19. 

^Compare on the subject of music of the ancient Hebrews the excellent appendix 
to the Psalms in Prof. Paul Haupt's Polychrome Edition of the Bible, pp. 217-23 1. 
236, 237. 

^Exodus xxviii, 17-20. 

^Ezekiol xxviii, 13. 

6 Revelations xxi, 19, 20. 



980 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



of the Revised Version, both in the text and margin, being added in 
parentheses. 

Besides the stones enumerated in these lists, there are probably- 
mentioned, first, diamond, Hebrew shamir, for which the following i^as- 
sages serve as illustrations: Jeremiah xvii, 1: "The sin of Judah is 
written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond;" Ezekiel 
iii, 9: "As an adamant harder than hint have 1 made thy forehead;" 
Zechariah vii, 12: "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, 
lest they should hear the law;" second, amber (margin of Ee vised Ver- 
sion, following the Septuagint and Vulgate, electrum), Hebrew, hashmal, 
Ezekiel i, 4, which however, may represent some metallic compound, 
possibly the mixture of gold and silver, now called electrum ; and, third, 
crystal, Hebrew qerah and gahish, properly ice, according to the view 
of the ancients, that crystal was ice hardened by intense cold.^ 

The three lists of precious stones in the Bible. 
I. EXODUS XXVIII, 17-20. 



1. Odem (sardion), carnelian 


2 


Pitdah (topazion), topaz or 


3. Bareketh (smaragdos), smar- 


(sardius, ruby ) . 




peridot. 


agd or emerald (carbuncle 
emerald). 


4. Nofek (anthrax), carbuncle, 


5 


Sappir {sapfeiros), sapphire 


6. Tahalom (iaspis), onyx, a 


probably tbe Indian ruby 




or lapis lazuli (sapphire;. 


kind of chalcedon (diamond. 


(emerald, carbuncle). 






sardonyx). 


7. Leshem* (ligyrion), jacinth, 


8 


Shebo (achates), agate. 


9. Achlamah* (amethystos). 


others, sapphire (jacinth, am- 






amethyst. 


ber). 








10. TarsMsh (chry solithos), 


11. 


Shohavi (beryllion), beryl 


12. Tashpeh (onychion),jaa]peT. 


chrysolite, others, topaz, 




(onyx, beryl). 




(beryl, chalcedony) . 









II. EZEKIEL XXVm, 13. 



1. Odem. 
4. Tarskish. 
7. Sappir. 



2. Pitdah. 
5. Shoham. 
8. iYo/eA;. 



3. Yahalom. 
6. Tashpeh. 
9. Bareketh. 



III. EEVELATIOKS XXI, 19, 20. 



1. 


Iaspis, jasper. 


2. Sapfeiros, sapphire or lapis 
lazuli. 


3. 


Chalkedon, chalcedony. 


4. 


Smaragdos, smaragd (emer- 
ald). 


5. Sardonyx, sardonyx. 


6. 


Sardios, sardius. 


7. 


Chrysolithos, chrysolite. 


8. Beryllos, beryl. 


9. 


Topazion, topaz. 


10. 


Chrysoprasos, chrysoprase. 


11. B'i/atin^Tio*, jacinth (margin, 
sapphire) . 


12. 


Amethystos, amethyst. 



"^ Dr. Fr. Hommel, in his book. The Ancient Hebrew Tradition as Illustrated by the Monuments 
New York. 1897, p. 281, compare also p. 291, surmises that leshem and achlamah are Egyptian loan- 
words, derived respectively from the Egyptian names neshem and ekhnome. 



1 Ezekiel i, 22; Job xxviii, 18; Revelations iv, 6. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 9 



12 3 


4 5 6 


7 8 




9 10 


11 12 13 


14 15 16 17 


18 19 20 21 


22 23 


24 28 


25 26 


27 



1. 

2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 



Fig. 
Fig. 
Fig. 
Fig. 
Fig. 
Fig. 
Fig. 
Fig. 8. 
Fig. 9. 
Fig. 10. 
Fig. 11. 
Fig. 12. 
Figs. 13, 
Fig. 15. 
Fig. 16. 
Fig. 17. 
Fig. 18. 
Fig, 19. 
Fig. 20. 
Fig. 21. 
Fig. 22. 
Fig. 23. 
Fig. 24. 
Fig. 25. 
Fig. 26. 
Fig. 27. 
Fig. 28. 



Shekel. 

Coin of Herod Agrippa II. 

Coins of John Hyrcanus. 

Coin of Alexander Jann^us {widow's mite). 

Staters of Antioch. 

Coin of Herod Antipas. 

Coin of Herod Philip. 

Coin of C.esarea. 

Tetradrachm of Sidon. 

Coins of Damascus. 

Coin of Askelon. 

Denarii. 

14. Tetradrachms of Tyre. 

Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great. 

Tetradrachm of Babylon. 

Tetradrachm of Seleucus I Nicator. 

Stater of Tarsus. 

Coin of Demetrius Soter. 

Coin of Cyprus. 

Aes of Thessalonica. 

Coin of Thessalonica. 

Tetradrachms of Athens. 

Didrachms of Athens. 

Tetradrachms of Ephesus. 

Hemidrachms of Ephesus. 

Tetradrachms of Macedonia. 

Child's Bank. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 9. 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 981 

The precious stones exhibited were as follows : 

RuBV, a variety of corundum (five specimens). — Ruby is given on the 
margin of the Ee vised Version for the Hebrew odem, which is also, 
however, rendered carneliau by some authorities. The Hebrew name 
indicates reddish stone.^ 

Topaz. — Topaz is the probable rendering of Hebrew pitdah^ men- 
tioned m the book of Job (xxviii, 19) as coming from Ethiopia. 

Gaunet carbuncle (seven specimens). — Carbuncle is given on the 
margin of the Revised Version for the Hebrew nofeli and in the text 
for the Revised Version for hareqeth,^ 

Emerald. — Given in the text of the Revised Version for the Hebrew 
no/eJc, and in the margin for Hebrew hareqeth and Greek smaragdos. 

Sapphire, a variety of corundum (four specimens). — Hebrew sappir 
and Greek sapfeiros are identical with the English name, which is the 
same as that in all modern languages. Some, however, assume that 
these names in the Bible signify lapis lazuli. 

Sardonyx, a variety of quartz (two specimens). — Sardonyx is given 
on the margin of the Revised Version for Hebrew yahalom.'^ 

Diamond (one specimen). — The Hebrew yahalom in the High Priest's 
breastplate. Exodus xxviii, 18, is rendered "diamond" in the English 
version and by Luther. But the diamond could not have been used in 
the breastplate, because the Hebrews knew of no means of engraving 
a name upon it. In all probability, however, the diamond is under- 
stood by Hebrew shamir, Jeremiah xvii, 1 ; Ezekiel iii, 9 ; Zechariah 
vii, 12, where it is spoken of as an object used for engraving, and of 
extreme hardness. 

White sapphire adamant, a variety of corundum (two specimens). 

Jacinth (three specimens). — Jacinth is assumed by some to be the 
Hebrew leshem. 

Agate, a variety of quartz (three specimens). — Agate is agreed to 
be the Hebrew shebo. 

Amethyst, a variety of quartz (three specimens). — Amethyst renders 
the Hebrew ahlamah. It is so called in Greek because it was thought 
to be a charm against drunkenness. The Hebrews popularly derived 
it from halam, to dream, and supposed that it brought pleasant dreams. 
Other etymologies have, however, been proposed. 

Beryl (two specimens). — Beryl is given for the Hebrew tarshish, 
Revised Version text, and shoham, Revised Version margin. 

Chalcedony, a variety of quartz (six specimens). — One of the 
stones enumerated in the description of the foundation of the Heavenly 
City (Revelation xxi, 19). Some assume that tarshish in the High 
Priest's breastplate (Exodus xxviii, 20), means chalcedony. (So the 
Revised Version margin.) Topaz is also given for this stone. 

' Where no references are given to these names, it may be assumed that they occur 
in the passages in Exodus, Ezekiel, and Revelations mentioned above. 
2 Exodus xxviii, 18. 



982 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Onyx, a variety of quartz. — Given in the Kevised Version of tlie 
Hebrew shoham. Sliohams set in gold were i)at ou each of the two 
shoulderstraps of the ephod of the High Priest, and the two together 
liad eugraved the uaines of the tribes of Israel (Exodus xxviii, 12). 
It is mentioned in Genesis ii, 12, in the account of the Garden of Eden. 

Jasper, a variety of quartz (two specimens). — This is the accepted 
meaning of the Hebrew name yashpehj the words being probably 
identical in origin. 

Oarnelian, a variety of quartz (three specimens). — Possibly 
Hebrew odem of the High Priest's breastplate (Exodus xxviii, 17), and 
the sardius in Eevelation iv, 3; xxi, 20. 

Chrysolite (two specimens). — Possibly Hebrew tarshish. 

Amber (two specimens). — Probably the Hebrew liaslimal (Ezekiel i, 
4). Som.e suppose that amber is understood by Hebrew lesliem. 

Chry^soprase, a variety of quartz (four specimens). — Enumerated 
in the description of the foundation of the Heavenly City (Eevelation 
xxi, 20). 

Lapis lazuli (Persia). — ISome authorities suppose that by sappir 
not sapphire but lapis lazuli is meant. 

Pearl. — It is supposed by some that the pearl is meant by the 
Hebrew peninim^ which is often employed in the Old Testament as a 
figure of something valuable and precious.^ 

In addition to the gems there was also exhibited a silver breast- 
plate, used as an ornament for the manuscript copy of the Pentateuch 
[Torali) employed in the synagogue, which represented the twelve 
stones which were set in the breastplate of the High Priest^ with the 
names of the twelve tribes of Israel underneath them. 

A SELECTION OF THE COINS OF BIBLE LANDS. 

.(Plate 9.) 

Coined money did not circulate among the Israelites previous to 
their return from the Babylonian captivity, and indeed there is no 
evidence that it did then. It is unquestioned, however, that specific 
weights of gold and silver were well recognized in commercial transac- 
tions from a very early period.^ This was principally silver in the 
form of bars — ingots — translated in the authorized and revised versions 

1 Proverbs iii, 15; xxxi, 10; Job xxviii, 18. Jesus uses the pearl for the same 
purpose (Matthew rii, 6; xiii, 45): ''Give not that which is holy uuto the dogs, 
neither cast your pearls before swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, 
and turn and rend you." Again, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man that 
is a merchant seeking goodly pearls; and having found one of great price, he went 
and sold all that he had and bought it." 

^Exodus xxviii. 

'Compare the first chapters in Ernest Babelon's Les origiDCS de la monnaie con- 
sideres au point de vue economique et historique, Paris, 1897. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 



983 



'^ wedge" (in the original ^'tongue," Joshua vii, 21)/ disks {MkMr), or 
rings (often represented on Egyptian monuments), which undoubtedly 
had a fixed valuation and weight. Generally the metal was weighed 
on scales to determine its value. Thus the name of the piece of money 
most frequently occurring in the Bible, shekel, properly denotes 
*' weight" (from shaqal, '^ to weigh"), and to this day it is usual in the 
East to examine and test carefully by weight all coins received. 

After the exile we find mentioned adarJcon and darkemon,'^ appar- 
ently as weights for money, which are usually identified in name with 
the Persian gold daric. Upon the overthrow of the Persian monarchy 
Greek coins of the denominations of talents and drachms probably 
began to circulate in Palestine. 

While some attribute the first coinage of the shekel to Ezra, the 
earliest native Jewish coins known are shekels and half shekels of 
silver, and one-sixth skekel of bronze, struck by Simon Maccabseus^ 
about 146 B. 0. The succeeding Maccabaean or Hasmongean princes 
down to 37 B. O. struck small bronze coins with Hebrew or Hebrew 
and Greek inscriptions. The Idumaean or Herodian princes coined 
bronze money bearing their names in Greek characters. At the same 
time the Roman procurators of Judsea (from 6 B. 0.) also struck coins 
with Greek inscriptions. The last coins struck by the Jews were those 
during the revolt under Bar-Cochba (132 A. D.). Greek and Eoman 
money was current in Palestine in addition to the native Hebrew 
coins, as seen from the New Testament."^ 

Money mentioned in the Biile. 



I. HEBREW MONEY. 













United States 


Talent Mina Shekel. 


One-half shekel 


One-fourth 


One-twentieth 


currency, 


(kikkar) . (vnaneh) . 


(beka). 


shekel (reha). 


shekel (gerah). 


about — 


1= 60= 3,000 = 


6,000 = 


12,000 = 


60, 


000 = 


$1, 920. 00 


1= 50 = 


100 = 


200 = 


1 


000 = 


32.00 


1 = 


2 = 


4 = 




20 = 


.64 




1 = 


2 = 




10 = 


.32 






1 = 




5 = 

1 = 


.16 
.03^ 




II. PERSIAN MONEY. 








Gold daric, weighing 130 grains 


Silver daric, 




United States currency, 


(adarkon, darkemon). 


about — 








about — 


1 = 


10 = 
1 = 








$5.50 
.52 



' Dr. Schliemann discovered in tlie second layer of Troy (the modern Hissarlic) 
six more or less tongne-shaped silver plaques, wliicli are now preserved in the Royal 
Museum of Berlin and which are assumed to have served as money ; compare Ur, 
A. Gotze, Die Trqjanischen Silberbanen der Schliemann-Sammlung, in Globus, LXX T, 
No. 14. 

2 Ezra viii, 27 ; Nehemiah vii, 72. 

^I Maccabees xv, G. 

^Compare William C. Prime, Money of the Bible, in the Sunday School Times, 
1898, Nos. 15, 17. 



984 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Money ntentioiied hi the Bibh — Coiitiuuetl. 

in. GIJEEK AND UOMAX MONEY. 

Drachm United States 

(•'piece of currency, 

Stater. Tetradracbm. Shekel. Didruchm. silver"). about — 

1= 1= 1= 2= 4= $0.64 

1= 2= ' .32 

1= .16 

United States 
Denarius Assarion Quadrant Lex)ton currency, 

("pence"). (As, •'farthing"). ("farthing"). ("widow's mite"). about — 

1= 10= 40= 80= $0.16 

1= 4= 8= .01 

1= 2= ,00^ 

1= .ooj 

The following specimens were shown as representing tlie ancient 
coinage of places mentioned in the Bible: 

Shekel. — Made of silver and attributed to Simon Maccabaeus 
(141-136 B. C), to whom Autiocluis YII Sidetes "gave leave to coin 
money for th}^ country with thine own stamp.'' ' Obverse, a cup repre- 
senting the pot of manna,"^ with the legend: '• Shekel of Israel. Year 
two;" reverse, the buddiog rod of Aaron, ^ with the legend: "Jerusa- 
lem the Holy." (See plate 9, tig. 1.) The value of the shekel in United 
States currency was about 61 cents. The average shekel weighs 
between 200 and 220 grains, Troy weight. 

Two COINS OF John Hyecanus (136-106 B. C). — Original of copper. 
Obverse, "Jochanan, High Priest and Prince of the Jewish Confedera- 
tion; " reverse, two cornucopias and a poppy head. (See plate 9, fig. 3.) 

Widow's mite. — Coin of Alexander Jannaeus (105-78 B. C). — Cop- 
per (facsimile). Obverse, "Jonathan the High Priest and the Confed- 
eration of the Jews," within a wreath of olive; reverse, two cornucopias 
and a poppy head. (See plate 9, fig. 4.) It is assumed that this or a 
similar coin is referred to by the term " widow's mite " in Mark xii, 42. 
It is true that in the original it bears the Greek name lepton Xstttovj 
Latin minutum^ but a Jewish coin must be assumed here, none other 
being permitted within the temple precincts. The mite was the small- 
est current Jewish coin in the times of Jesus, and was also the smallest 
temple contribution legally admissible. Its value in the United States 
currency was about one- eighth of a cent. 

Coix OF Herod Antipas. — Bronze. Obverse (in Greek characters), 
"Herod Tetrarch," with a palm branch; reverse, "Tiberias," within a 
wreath. (See plate 9, fig. 6.) Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and 
Peraea, A. D. 4-39, is often mentioned in the New Testament.^ It was 
he who beheaded John the Baptist, and to him was Jesus sent for 
examination, by Pilate.^ In honor of the Emperor Tiberias he founded 
the city of Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Gennesareth, 
where the coin was struck. 

1 1 Maccabees xv, 6. ■* Matthew xiv, 1-3; Luke iii, 1, 19, etc. 

' Exodus xvi, 33. ~ ^ Luke xxiii, 7. 

3 Numbers xrii, 8. 



I 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 985 

Coin of Herod Philip II (died A. D. 34). — Struck at Csesarea 
Philippi in lionor of the Eighth Roman Legion. Copper. Obverse, 
" Herod Philip/' with his portrait; reverse, the standards of the Legion. 
(See plate 9, fig. 7.) Herod Philip is mentioned ^ as Tetrarch of Itiirea; 
Csesarea Philippi was often visited by Jesus.^ It is now a small village 
called Banijas, near Mount Hermon. 

Coin of Agrippa II (last Jewish King). — Bronze. Obverse, name 
and head of the Emperor; reverse, ''Money of Agrippa, struck at 
Neronias" (Caesarea Philippi). (See plate 9, fig. 2.) Herod Agrippa II 
was the last Jewish King, 48-100 A. D.^ 

His long reign was coincident with that of the Eoman emperors 
Claudius, Nero, Galba,Otho,Yitelius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitan,Nerva, 
Trajan, and his coins are therefore found bearing the effigies of several 
emperors. He is mentioned "^ as having an interview with the Apostle 
Paul in the presence of the Eoman Governor Festus at Csesarea. 

Denarius, or Roman Tribute Penny. — Silver (two specimens). 
Obverse, "Tiberius Caesar," son of deified Agustus (Emperor 14-37 
A. D.); reverse, "Pontifex Maximus" (Chief Priest). It contained 60 
grains Troy of silver, and its value was about 16 cents. (See plate 9, 
fig. 12.) The denarius was the tribute money that the Jews had to pay 
to the Eomans, and it is very likely that a variety of this coin was 
shown Jesus with the question "Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar 
or not?"^ The denarius seems to have been the ordinary day's wages 
of the Palestinian peasantry.*' It is mentioned eleven times in the 
Gospels'^ and once in the Eevelation (vi, 6). The translation in the 
English versions, penny, is misleading. 

Stater. — Antioch. Silver (facsimile, two specimens). Obverse, 
"(Money) of Caesar Augustus" (first Eoman Emperor, 29 B. C. to 14 
A. D.), with head of the Emperor; reverse, Tyche, as genius of the city 
of Antioch, with her foot on the river god Orontes, and the words, 
"Thirtieth year of the victory" (i. e., Actium). (See plate 9, fig. 5.) 
The stater, about equal in value to the shekel, is mentioned (Eevised 
Version, "shekel "; margin, " stater") as the coin which would be found 
by Peter in the mouth of the fish, sufficient to pay the Temple tribute, 
which was half a shekel, for Jesus and himself.*^ 

Coin of C^sarea. — Bronze. Obverse, head of Agustus Caesar. 
(See plate 9, fig. 8.) C^sarea, founded by Herod I, is frequently men- 
tioned in the Acts. It was the scene of the conversion of the centurion 

' Luke iii, 1. 

2 Matthew xvi, 13 ; Mark viii, 27. 
^ Graetz, History of the Jews, pp. 50-93. 
4Act8xxvi,2, 28. 
^Matthew xxii, 17. 
'■' Idem, XX, 2. 

7 M«m, xviii, 28; xx, 2, 9, 10, 13 ; xxii, 17; Mark vi, 37; xii, 15; xiv, 5; Lukevii, U; 
X, 35 ; XX, 24 ; John vi, 7 ; xii, 5. 
** Idem, xvii, 27. 



986 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Cornelius (x); Philip preached the Gospel here (xxi, 8)5 Paul was 
iiiiprisoiied here two years before he was seut to Eome (xxiv-xxvi). 
It was the residence of the Eoman governors, and here the Jewish war 
against Eome broke out. 

Tetradrachm of Sidon. — Silver. Obverse, head of the city; 
reverse, ^' (Money of the Sidoniaus) Holy and inviolable," with the fig- 
ure of Astarte. (See plate 9, fig. 9.) The value of a tetradrachm was 
about the same as of the shekel, or 64 cents. Sidon, the oldest city of 
Phenicia, is often mentioned in the Bible. It is at present represented 
by the town of Saida, with about 15,000 inhabitants. 

Tetradrachms of Tyre. — Silver. Obverse; Head of Hercules as 
Baal (Lord) of the city. (See plate 9, figs. 13, 14.) Tyre, next to 
Sidon the oldest and most important city of Phenicia, is often referred 
to in the Bible. During the period of David and Solomon friendly 
relations were entertained between Tyre and Israel.^ The coast of Tyre 
was visited by Jesus,^ and Paul landed at Tyre on one of his mis- 
sionary voyages.^ The modern Qur is an unimportant town, with about 
5,000 inhabitants. 

Coin of Ashkelon. — Bronze. Struck by order of Emperor Alex- 
ander Severus, about A. D. 228. (See plate 9, figs. 11.) 

Ascalon, or Ashkelon, was one of the five cities of the Philistines, 
30 miles southwest of Jerusalem;* it was the center of the worship of 
Derceto, the supposed female counterpart of Dagon. It is now repre- 
sented by the village of Askalan. 

Coins of the City of Damascus. — Copper (two specimens). (See 
plate 9, fig. 10.) Damascus, the ancient capital of Syria, is mentioned 
as early as in the times of Abraham.^ Later, it frequently came in con- 
tact with Israel.^ In the New Testament it is especially known from 
the history of the Apostle Paul.' 

Tetradrachm of the City of Babylon. — Silver. Struck by 
Mazaios, governor under Alexander the Great, 331-328 B. C. (See 
plate 9, fig. 16.) 

Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great (336-323 B. C). — Silver. 
Obverse, head of the king; reverse, Zeus (Jupiter) seated holding the 
eagle. (See plate 9, fig. 15.) 

Alexander, King of Macedonia and the famous conqueror, is men- 
tioned by name in I Maccabees vi, 2. It is also assumed that he is 
typified under the emblem of the ''he-goat" in Daniel viii, 5, and that 
his empire is meant by the ''fourth monarchy" depicted in Daniel ii, 
40 and vii, 7, 23f. 

Tetradrachm of Seleucus I Kicator, KiNa of Syria, 312-280 
B. C. — Silver. Obverse, head of Seleucus; reverse, figure of Jupiter. 

' I Kings, V. ^ Genesis xiv, 15 ; xv, 2. 

2 Matthew xv, 21; Mark vii, 24. "II Samuel viii, 6; II Kings xvi, 9, etc. 

3 Acts xxi, 3. ''Acts ix; xxii, 6. 

^ Joshua xiii, 3 ; 1 Samuel vi, 17. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 987 

(See plate 9, fig. 17.) The city of Seleucia, the principal port of Aiitioch, 
from which Paul and Barnabas set out for Cyprus,^ was named after 
Seleucus I. 

Coin of Demetrius Soter. — Obverse, head of Demetrius; reverse, 
"King Demetrius Soter," with seated female figure. (See plate 9, 
fig. 19.) Demetrius Soter, King of Syria 162-150 B. C, waged war 
against the Maccabees and is often mentioned in the books of the 
Maccabees.^ 

Stater of Tarsus.— Silver. 380-360 B. C. Obverse, Baal 
enthroned within a circle of turrets 5 reverse. Satrap Tarcamos seated, 
holding one arrow. (See plate 9, fig. 18.) Tarsus, the ancient capital 
of Oilicia, Asia Minor, was the home of the Apostle Paul.=^ It is still a 
city of about 10,000 inhabitants. It is now accessible from Alexan- 
dretta by rail. 

Coin of Cyprus. — Bronze. Strack under Emperor Claudius (A. D, 
41-54) and the Proconsul Sergius Paulus. ( See plate 9, fig. 20. ) Cyprus, 
one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, was the birthplace of 
Barnabas,'' and often visited by Paul while Sergius was its proconsul.^ 
In the Old Testament it is referred to by the name of Kittim, which 
name is, however, also used in some passages in a wider sense for the 
Greek coasts and islands of the Mediterranean. 

Tetradrachms of Ephesus. — Silver. Struck 140 B. C. (two speci- 
mens). (See plate 9, fig. 25.) Ephesus, in ancient time one of the most 
important cities in Asia Minor, was especially celebrated for its Temple 
of Diana.^ It was the place of residence of Paul,' of Timothy,^ and of 
the Apostle John, who probably died there. Ephesus was one of the 
seven churches referred to in the Apocalypse.^ It was also the seat of 
the third General Council (A. D. 431) and of the ''Eobber Synod '^ (A. D. 
449). Numerous ruins are still to be seen there. 

Hemidrachms of Ephesus. — Silver. Struck 200 B, C. Obverse, 
Bee; reverse. Deer (two specimens). (See plate 9, fig. 26.) 

Aes (= As) of Thessalonica). — Copper. Struck 88 B. C. Obverse, 
head of Janus; reverse, Dioscuri. (See plate 9, fig. 21.) The as or 
assariusj in the Greek .N"ew Testament ao'ffapior (assarion), in the 
English version "farthing," was the original Koman coin, and was at 
one time the unit in Poman numeration both of weight and currency. 
The Greeks adopted the name of the coin and used it upon their 
autonomous coins. The as of the Kew Testament was of the value of 
one-sixteenth of a denarius and nearly the size of an English half- 
penny. It is mentioned in Matthew x, 29 and 30: "Are not two spar- 
rows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground 

1 Acts xiii, 4. ^ Acts xix, 35. 

2 1 Maccabees viii, 31; x, 1, etc. ^ Jdem^ xix. 

3 Acts ix, 11, 30; xi, 25; xxii, 3. 'I Timothy i, 3. 

^ Jde7n, i V, 36. ^ Apocalypse ii, 4. 
^Idem, xiii, 4. 



988 REPORT OF NATIONAL MU8EUM, 1896. 

without your Father; but the very hairs of your head are all num- 
bered."' In Matthew v, -J6, the last "farthing" is referred to, and in 
Mark xii, 42, we read "two mites, which make a farthing." The Greek 
word is HodpayT7]<5 {Kodrantes^ Latin quaclrans), which was one-fourth 
of an as. Thessalonica, formerly the capital of Macedonia, where the 
coin was struck, is the modern Salonica. Two Epistles of Paul are 
addressed to the Christians of this place. 

Coin of Thessalonica. — Copper. Struck 158 B. C. Obverse, head 
of City of Nymph; reverse. Galley. (See plate 9, fig. 22.) 

Tetradrachm of Macedonia. — Silver. Struck between 156 and 
146 B. C. Obverse, head of Minerva upon a Macedonian shield ; reverse, 
Club of Hercules. (See plate 9, fig. 27.) Macedonia is often mentioned 
in the New Testament. Paul visited this province on his second and 
third missionary voyages and founded congregations in several of its 
cities.^ 

DiDRACHMS OF ATHENS. — Silver (two specimens) (470 to 230 B. C). 
Obverse, head of Athene (Minerva) ; reverse, Owl. (See plate 9, fig. 24.) 
Athens, the former capital of Attica and the modern cajiital of Greece, 
was visited by Paul, where he delivered the discourse on the Areopagus.^ 

Tetradrachms OF Athens.— Silver (470 to 230 B. C). Obverse, 
head of Athene (Minerva) ; reverse. Owl (the bird sacred to Athene) 
(two specimens). (See plate 9, fig. 23.) 

Child's bank. — Pottery. Excavated at Ostia (seaport of ancient 
Kome), 1886, by Dr. Thomas Wilson. (See plate 9, fig. 28.) 

When found the bank consisted of a single piece of pottery. In the 
top was a slit through which the money was dropped. It contained 
145 silver coins of the Roman Consular or Familia series. As these 
coins were issued from 200 to 19 B. C, and none of a later date were 
in the find, it is to be presumed that the bank was buried a short time 
before the Christian era. The silver denarii in the bank are part of the 
original lot found with the bank. 

DRESS, ORNAMENTS, AND HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS. 

The fashion of dress and ornament, as well as the form of household 
utensils, are, it may be assumed, in the "unchanging East" essentially 
the same at the present day as in Bible times, and the collection shown 
of objects of modern life and industry in the Orient explain or illustrate 
many allusions in the Scriptures. 

The objects were as follows: 

Sheepskin coat. (See plate 10.) Skins of animals were the 
primitive material used for clothing,^ and pelisses of sheepskin still 
form an ordinary article of dress in the East. The mantle of the 

1 Luke xii, 6. ^ Acts xvii, 15ff. 

2 Acts xvi and xx. ■* Genesis iii, 21, 



Report of U S National Museum, 1896.— Ad ler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 10. 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 989 

Propbet Elijah ' was probably the skin of a sheep or some animal with 
the hair left on, wherefore he is called the " hairy man."^ It was char- 
acteristic of the prophet's office.^ *^ Beware of false prophets, which 
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." 
''And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets shall be 
ashamed everyone of his vision when he prophesieth; neither shall 
they wear a hairy mantle to deceive." " The prophet's (Elijah's) dress 
proclaimed the mountaineer of the Arabian border exactly the same as 
is worn to-day; the undergarment bound with a broad leather belt, and 
over it a loose, coarse cloak of sheepskin, with the wool outside, its 
dark-browu folds floating in the wind as he hurriedly strode along 
with beard bare and long black locks covering his neck, for he was a 
Kazarite. The Moslem prophet-dervish, as different from the mollah 
or dervish of the towns as Elijah from a Levite of Jerusalem, exactly 
copies this dress and habit." ^ 

Male costume of Bagdad, Mesopotamia. — The general char- 
acteristics of Oriental dress have been much the same in all ages. The 
representations on monuments correspond in general to the raiment in 
present use. They are the same loose, flowing robes, which can easily 
be adapted to various purposes. The garments mentioned in the Bible 
as generally used are the Ketoneth (Greek, ^ztg^^f, chiton; English ver- 
sions, "coat"), a kind of shirt worn next to the skin, corresponding to 
the modern qamis. It reached to the knees or ankles and was either 
sleeveless or provided only with short sleeves. A person wearing the 
Ketoneth alone is described as naked.^ Over the shirt there was worn 
during the day the meU (English versions, "cloak"), which had loose 
sleeves and was longer than the shirt, answering to the modern Kaftan. 
It was thrown ofl" when the wearer engaged in manual labor. It was 
fastened by a girdle and the folds thus formed were used as pockets. 
It was and is sometimes woven in one piece.^ These garments are 
referred to by Jesus in Matthew v, 40: "And if any man would go to 
law with thee and take away thy coat (Greek jzrcs^F, chiton), let him 
have thy cloak (i/uanor, himation) also." Over these was worn an 
outer garment, referred to by the terms simlah, heged, Icesuth, and 
lehush. It consisted of a rectangular piece of woolen cloth, something 
like a Scotch plaid, and answered to the modern lungi in Central Asia 
or the aVeih in Egypt, and varied in size and quality with the means 
of the wearer. There is no special allusion to headdress (except as an 
ornamental appendage in the description of the dress of the priests). 
The ordinary headdress of the Bedouin consists of the Kufflyeh, a square 
handkerchief, generally of red and yellow cotton, or cotton and silk, 

1 1 Kings xix, 13, 19; II Kings ii, 13. 

2 11 Kings i, 8. 

3 Matthew vii, 15; Zechariah xiii, 4. 

"'H. B. Tristram, Eastern Customs in Bible Lands, ]>. 160. 

'^I Samuel xix, 24 ; Isaiah xx, 2; John, xxi, 7. 

*^ John xix, 23. Compare Tristram, Eastern Customs in Bible Lauds, p. 156. 



990 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

folded so that three of the coruers hang down over the neck and 
shoulders, leaving the face exposed, and bound round the head by a 
cord, and it is probable that in ancient time the head was protected in 
a similar manner. For the protection of the feet sandals were worn, 
consisting of leather soles fastened to the foot by means of thongs. 
Shoes seem to have been worn by women for ornamental purposes.^ 

Woman's costume of Baodad, Mesopotamia. — The costume of 
women was essentially similar to that of men. There was sufficient dif- 
ference, however, to mark the sex, and it was strictly forbidden to a 
woman to wear "that which pertaineth unto a man" and to a man "to 
put on a woman's garment" simlali? The difference, probably, con- 
sisted chiefly in the outer garment. That of woman is called Mitpahathj^ 
ma'atdfdh^^ both designating a kind of wrapx3er or shawl. There are 
mentioned besides gaif^^ probably a garment of light, gauzy material, 
radidj^ a similar robe, pethigily explained to denote a wrap of some sort 
or a girdle. 

Syrian coat. — Called in Syriac Ahba. It consists of red cloth 
embroidered in white and is worn as an outer garment. 

Silver NECKLACE (Hebrew, Jl?i615). (See plate 11, fig. 1.) Necklaces, 
like many other ornaments, were worn by both sexes.^ They consisted 
of a single band or chain, or of a series of ornaments, as pearls or pieces 
of corals, strung together.^ The custom of wearing a necklace is figura- 
tively referred to in Proverbs i, 9 : " For they shall be a chaplet of grace 
unto thy head and chains about thy neck." Animals ridden by kings 
were decorated with collars of precious metals,^° and it is still the custom 
in the East to decorate riding beasts in this way. 

Silver anklets (Hebrew, Akasim). (See plate 11, ^g. 4.) Anklets 
worn by women as ornaments are mentioned in Isaiah iii, 16, 18. From 
these passages it would seem that the tinkling produced by knocking 
the anklets against each other was their chief attraction. To increase 
the sound, pebbles were sometimes inclosed in them. They were also 
worn by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Eomans, and are still gen- 
eral in India and in Africa. They were sometimes connected by the 
"anklet chains"^^ (Hebrew, Ce'adah), which, compelled those who wore 
them to take short, mincing steps. 

Gold nose rino (Hebrew, jVe^j^m). (See plate 11, fig. 3.) TheHebrew 

' Ezekiel xvi, 10; Canticles vii, 2. Compare Judith x, 4; xvi, 9. 

-Deuteronomy xxii, 5. 

3 Ruth iii, 15; Isaiah iii, 22. 

^Isaiah iii, 22; English versions, ''mantle, shawl." 

^ Genesis xxiv, 65 ; English versions, ''veil." 

6 Isaiah iii, 23; Canticles v, 7. 

''Idem, iii, 24. 

^ Genesis xli, 42 ; Daniel v, 29. 

i' Canticles i, 10; iv, 9. 
'"Judges viii, 26. 
" They are referred to in Isaiah iii, 20. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 11 




Fig. 1. Necklace {anaq). 

(Cat. N"o. 151727, XJ. S. N. M. Bagdad, Turkey. Collected by Eev. Dr. John P. Peter.s.) 

Fig. 2. Jewish Wedding Ring. 

(Cal . ISTo. 154435, Y. S. N. M. Philadelphia, Pa. Deposited by Mayer Sulzberger.) 

Fig. 3. Nose Ring {nezem). 

(Cat. No. 151728, U. S. N. M. Bagdad. Turkey. Collected by Pev. Dr. John P. Peters.) 

Figs. 4,5. Anklets (akasim). 

(Cat. No. 151726, U. S. N. M. Bagdad, Turkey. Collected by Per. Dr. John P. Peters.) 

Figs. 6-8. Kohl. 

(Cat. ISTo. 151729, U. S. N. M. Bagdad, Turkey. Collected by Eev. Dr. John P. Peters.) 

Implements for Painting the Eyes. 

(Cat. Xos. 745G2, 74563, U. S. X. M. Egypt. Collected by George AV. Samson.) 

Fig. 9. Syrian Inkhorn. 

(Cat. No. 74618, U. S. N. M. Palestine. Collected by George W. Sarason.) 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896, — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 1 1. 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 991 

word nezem denotes both an earring and a nose ring.^ In modern times 
the rings are often of extraordinary size and frequently reach to the 
mouth, so that they must be removed in eating. Sometimes the nose 
and ears are connected by a series of rings interlinked with one another. 

Kohl and ancient and modern implements used in painting 
THE EYES (Hebrew, Ftich; Aramean, Kuhala). (See plate 11, figs. 6, 8.) 
The practice of applying pigments to the eyelids and eyebrows in order 
to enhance the brilliancy of the eyes was common in Bible times,^ and 
is still in everyday practice in the East. The pigment, which is a 
preparation of antimony, is applied to the eyelids by means of a small 
blunt piece of wood or ivory, which is moistened, dipped in the mixture, 
and then drawn carefully along the edges of the eye. From the Arabic 
name kohl comes the term *' alcohol," the fineness of the powder sug- 
gesting the idea of highly rectified spirits. 

Millstones (Hebrew, Rehaim) (see plate 12, figs. 1, 2), and a modern 
photograph showing women grinding corn. (See plate 13.) Millstones 
are often referred to in the Bible, and they are still used in grinding 
corn in the same form as in ancient times. They consist of two cylin- 
drical stones. The lower one is firmly planted on the ground and pro- 
vided with a convex upper surface, on which the concave under surface 
of the other stone revolves. The upper stone, which is called reheb or 
*'rider,'^ has a hole through its center, into which the grain is dropped, 
and through which runs a shaft to hold the stone in x)lace. A handle 
attached to the '^ rider" enables a person sitting near to turn it around 
and grind the grain, which is fed with the hand that is free. 

Layard^ describes the grinding of corn by the modern Arabs as fol- 
lows: ^'The wandering Arabs have no other means of grinding their 
corn than by hand mills, which they carry with them wherever they go. 
They are always worked by the women, for it is considered unworthy 
of a man to engage in any domestic occupation. * * * The grain 
is passed throug*h the hole of the pivot, and the flour is collected in a 
cloth spread under the mill. It is then mixed with water, kneaded in 
a wooden bowl, and pressed by the hand into round balls ready for 
baking. During these i)rocesses the women are usually seated on the 
ground. Hence in Isaiah xlvii, 1, 2, the daughter of Babylon is told 
to sit in the dust and on the ground and " to take the millstones to 
grind meal." It was forbidden to take the mill or even the upper stone 
in i^ledge, as taking " the life" (that is the means of sustaining life).* 
As each day so much grain was ground as was needed, the " voice of 
the mill" became proverbial.^ 

^ Genesis xxiv, 47; Isaiah iii, 21, and Proverbs xi, 32. 

'^Jeremiah iv, 30: "Though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost 
thon make thyself fair: thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life." (Compare 
Ezekiel xxiii, 40; Proverbs vi, 25.) 

''Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, abridged edition, p. 127. 

''Deuteronomy xxiv, 6. 

^ Jeremiah xxv, 10. 



992 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



Goatskin waterbag (Hebrew, Nod and Eemeth). (See plate 12, 
lig. 3.) Skin bottles were commonly used.' Jesus employs them in 
a comparison: "Neither do men put new wine into old wine-skins" 
(margin, "skins used as bottles").^ Such bottles are made from the 
whole skins of animals, generally the goat. After the animal is killed 
and its feet and head removed the rest of the body is drawn out entiie 
without opening the belly, and after the skin has been tanned the 
places where the legs were cut off are sewn up and when filled it is tied 
about the neck. These skin bottles were also used to contain milk, 
and in them the milk was churned. To the corners of the skin bottle 
filled with milk cords are tied and the skin is thus suspended from 
three sticks, which are inclined so as to meet at a point above. A girl 
sits beneath and moves the suspended bottle to and fro.^ Skin bottles 
are also in use in Spain, in the City of Mexico, and by the Eskimos. 

Bird trap (Hebrew, Pah). (See plate 14, fig. 1.) The most usual 
method of catching birds was by the trap, which consisted of two 
parts, a net strained over a frame and a stick or spring (Hebrew 
mogesh) to support it, but so placed that it should give way to the 
slightest touch. The bird trap is frequently used in comparisons for 
the ensnaring of the heedless and the weak."^ " Can a bird fall in a 
snare upon the earth where no giu is set for him? Shall a snare spring 
up from the ground and have taken nothing at all!" "Our soul is 
escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers." " He goeth after 
her straightway * * * as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth 
not that it is for his life." "A gin shall take him by the heel and a 
snare shall lay hold on him." "As the birds that are caught in the 
snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it 
falleth suddenly upon them." 

SlinGt (Hebrew, Qela). (See plate 14, fig. 2.) The sling as a 
weapon of war is first mentioned in the Book of Judges (xx, 16). 
David killed Goliath with a stone thrown from a sling.^ The Israel- 
itish army was provided with companies of slingers.^ The sling was 
also employed in the wars of the Eoman against the Jews.' According 
to the monuments the sling was both an Egyj)tian and an Assyrian 
weapon. It consisted of a strip of leather or woven material, wide in 
the middle to receive the missile, and narrowing at both ends into a 
rope. Not only were smooth stones used for hurling, but balls made 
of burnt clay, of lead, and various other hard substances. It is still 
used by shepherds to drive away wild animals from their herds as in 
the time of David. 

^ Genesis xxi, 14 ; Joshua ix, 5. 

^ Matthew ix, 17. 

3 Picturesque Palestine, p. 48. 

^Amos iii, 5; Psalms cxxiv, 7; Proverbs vii, 23; Job xviii, 9; Ecclesiastes ix, 12. 

^ I Samuel xvii, 40. 

^11 Kings iii, 25. 

■^ Josephus, Wars of the Jews, ii, 7, 18; iv, 1, 3. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 12 




Figs, 1, 2. Millstones. 

(Cat. No. 151827. T. S. N. M. Bagdad, Turkey. Collected by Eev. Dr. .Tolm P. Peters.) 

Fig. 3. Goatskin AYaterbag. 

(Cat. ISTo. 74627, V. S. N. M. Palestiue. Collected by George W. Samson.) 






Report of U. S. National Museum, 1 896.— Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 12. 



> 

z 
o 

O 
o 

> 




Report of U. S National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 1 3. 




EXPLANATION OF PLATE 14, 



Fig. 1. Bird Trap {jmh). 

(Cat. No. 151842, U. S. N. M. Bagdad, Turkey. Collected by Rev. Dr. John P. Peters.) 

Fig. 2. Sling (qela). 

(Cat. Xo. 168249, TJ. S. N. M. Damascus, Syria. Collected by Dr. G. Brown Goode.) 

Figs. 3, 4. Door Lock and Key. 

(Cat. No. 151840, U. S. X. M. Bagdad, Turkey. Collected by Rev. Dr. John P. Peters. > 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adierand Casanowicz. 



Plate 14. 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 993 

Wooden door lock and key. (See plate 14, fig. 3.) The doors of 
Eastern bouses, which are usually small and low, seem early to have 
been provided with hinges turning in sockets, and with locks and keys,^ 
in whose construction no little ingenuity was displayed. Formerly, as 
uow, it is likely that locks and keys were made both of iron and of 
wood, according to circumstances. The wooden key now quite gener- 
ally in use consists of a piece of wood about a foot in length provided 
at one end with a series of pegs. It is thrust into a little opening at 
the side of the door and applied to the bolt. This has a corresponding 
series of holes into which the pegs of the key fit, displacing thereby 
another set of pegs by which the bolt is held in its place.^ 

Syrian inkhorn (Hebrew, Qeseth ha sofer). (See plate 11, fig. 9.) 
The most common writing material among the Hebrews was probably 
papyrus or dressed skins. This at least must have been the case in 
the time of Jeremiah, as the expression "roll of a book"^ points to 
some pliant material. Ink (Hebrew, deyo)^ which was made of soot, is 
mentioned in Jeremiah xxxvi, 18, The pen used for writing on papyrus 
or parchment was no doubt the reed pen still common in the Orient 
and until recently in southern Europe.'^ The inkhorn is mentioned in 
Ezekiel ix, 2, as being carried "by the sidej" that is, fastened to the 
girdle of the scribe. It is still carried in this fashion in the Orient. 
The inkhorn consists of a tube containing reed pens and a receptacle 
for ink. 

JEWISH RELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL. 

The. next collection was one of objects of Jewish religious ceremonial, 
which had their origin in and are based upon Biblical ordinances. 
The following specimens were shown: 

Manuscript copy of the Pentateuch, or Five Books of 
Moses in Hebrew, Sefer Torah. — The Pentateuch or law (Hebrew, 
Torah) is considered by the Jews the most important part of the Bible. 
A section of it is read every Sabbath in the synagogue in the morning 
service, and shorter portions in the afternoon service, on holidays, 
fasts, and on Monday and Thursday mornings of every week. This 
latter usage goes back to the days of the early synagogue when Mon- 
day and Thursday were court and market days, and the peasants 
coming to town to dispose of their produce would attend worship. A 
manuscript copy is employed, printed copies not being used. When 
not in use the roll is covered with a cloak and placed upright in an ark 
or chest. 

Pointer (Hebrew, Yad, properly ^^hand"). — The pointer is used in 
the service of the synagogue during the reading of the law to prevent 

'Judges iii, 23, 25; Canticles y, 5; Neliemiah iii, 3. 
^Bjggei^ Biblical Antiquities, p. 23. 
^Jeremiah xxxvi, 2. 

'' Compare Jeremiah viii, 8; Psalms xlv, 2; III Joliu, 13. 
NAT MUS 96 63 



994 REPORT OF NATIONAL MITSEUM, 1896. 

the reader from losing the place. It is usually made in the shape of a 
hand, hence its Hebrew name. 

Silver breastplate of the Tor ah.— On the top are the two 
tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments, surmounted by the 
*' crown of the law" upheld by two lions, the symbol of the tribe of 
Judah. Inside the tablets are engraved, on a sliding i)late, the names 
of the various festivals. (See plate 15.) The manuscript copy of the 
Pentateuch, or the Sefer Torah, being the most precious object used in 
Jewish ceremonies, is, when not in use, covered with a mantle of costly 
material, sometimes adorned with a breastplate, bells, or crown, and 
put upright in the ''holy ark" (aron ha-Tcodesh). 

Veil of the Holy Ark (Parocheth). — Made in Constantinople, 
Turkey. (See plate 16.) The border of green velvet is embroidered in 
gold and silver with flowers. The center, of red velvet, has in the four 
corners, in Hebrew, the names of the four archangels, Eaphael, Gabriel, 
Uriel, and Michael. On the top are the words, "But the Lord is in His 
holy temple; let all the earth keep silence bef6re Him,"^ and "I have 
set the Lord always before me."^ Below is a burning lamj) hanging 
down by chains, symbolizing the light which emanates from the law of 
God. On the sides are the words, "This is the gate of the Lord; the 
righteous shall enter into it." ^ In the Holy Ark {aron ha-lcodesh) are 
kept the scrolls of the law, or the Pentateuch, written on parchment, 
for use in the service of the synagogue. The "Holy Ark" is, therefore, 
the most imj)ortant part of the synagogue, and is richly adorned. 
Whenever it is opened the congregation rises in reverence for the Law 
of God it contains. 

Sabbath lamp. — Used by the German Jews in their houses. It 
was manufactured in the eighteenth century in Fellheim, Germany. 
(See plate 17, fig. 1.) The celebration of the Sabbath is ushered in on 
its eve (Friday evening) by the housewife lighting candles, reciting 
the words, "Blessed art Thou, Lord, our God, King of the World, who 
hath commanded us to light the light of the Sabbath." After that no 
fire may be handled until the following evening. 

KiDDUSH CLOTH. — Silk. Containing in beadwork the tablets of the 
decalogue in Hebrew, supported by lions. Above are the words, 
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."* Before the principal 
meals of the Sabbath and other feast days the Jews have a special 
service, including prayers over the wine and bread, which is known as 
Kiddush, or "sanctification." The head of the family has in front of 
him a plate containing two loaves of bread, covered by a cloth. The 
practice of saying a blessing before eating is referred to in I Samuel 
ix, 13. It no doubt had its origin in the fact that a public meal of any 
sort was usually preceded by a sacrifice. "Asking the blessing" was 

^Habakkuk ii, 20. ^ Psalms cxvii, 20. 

2 Psalms xvi, 8. ■* Exodus xx, 8. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 15. 




Breastplate of the Torah. 

Constantiuople. 
Cat, No. 154990, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 16. 




Veil of the Holy Ark (Parocheth). 

Constantinople. 

Cat. No. 154758, U.S.N.M. Collected by Dr. Cyrus Adler. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 17, 




Fig. 1. Sabbath Lamp. 

(Oat. No. 130294, TJ. S. N. M. Germany.) 

Fig. 2. Hanukkah Lamp. 

(Cat. No. 130295, TJ. S. N. M. Germany.) 

Figs. 3, 4. Slaughtering Knife and Scabbard. 
(Cat. No. 154619, IT. S. N. M. Germany.) 



Report of U, S. National Museum, 1896 — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 17. 




I 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 995 

common in ISTew Testament times. The later Jews enjoined also that 
tlianks should be returned after the repast. 

SiLYER SPICE BOX. — Supposed to have been manufactured in Laup- 
heim ( Wilrtemberg:), Germany, about 1740. (See plate 18, fig. 4.) This 
box, filled with spices, is used in the Jewish service known as Hahdalah 
(or separation), the service of the conclusion of the Sabbath. There is a 
tradition that at the beginning of the Sabbath a special angel accom- 
panies the worshiper from the synagogue; this angel remains with him 
until the conclusion of the Sabbath. The departure of the angel leaves 
the man faint, and the spices are intended to restore him. The objects 
used in this service are a cup of wine, the spice box, and a candle. 
First a blessing is said over the wine, next over the spices, and last 
over the light. The cup of wine and the spice box are passed around 
among the members of the household. The candle is then extinguished 
by having wine poured upon it. 

Brass plate, used at the Passover meal. — Adorned with animal 
figures and flowers and containing an Arabic inscription in Hebrew 
characters. Made in Constantinople (see plate 19). At the Passover 
meal {Seder, properly ''order") a large plate is put on the table, which 
forms, as it were, the altar of the service. On it are placed the various 
emblematic articles of the ceremony. These are: a piece of roasted 
meat, usually the bone of a lamb, representing the Passover lamb; a 
roasted egg, in memory of the festal sacrifice offered in the Temple; 
bitter herbs {maror, usually horse-radish), in commemoration of the 
''embittering of life" which Israel suffered in Egyptian servitude ;i 
eharoseth, a compound of almonds, apples, and sirup, which has the 
color of brick-clay, and into which the bitter herbs are dipped before it 
is partaken of; some green herbs (lettuce or something similar), as the 
"food of poverty;" and the unleavened bread or ma^-goth, the principal 
food of the Passover feast, which is the "bread of affliction, for thou 
earnest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste." ^ 

Omer tablet (manuscript). (See plate 20,) Used in the Syna- 
gogue for reckoning the period between Passover and Pentecost. The 
tablet is in Hebrew. It contains the words, "Blessed art thou, O Lord 
our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His Com- 
mandments and commanded us to count the Omer." Then follows the 
count (in Hebrew), and below it the words, *'May the Lord restore the 
worship of the temple speedily in our days," and Psalm Ixvii. The 
letters H, S, and D on the left, mean, respectively, Omer (written Homer 
by the Spanish Jews), week (Sabbath), and day. The figures on the 
right indicate that it is the forty-seventh day of Omer, i. e., six weeks 
and five days. The harvest season was formally opened with the cere- 
mony of waving a sheaf of barley in the sanctuary on the second day 
of the Passover feast, which began on the 15th of Nisan (March- April). 



^Exodus i, 14. 2 Deuteronomy xvi, 3. 



996 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Before tliis ceremony took place tbe barvesting of graiu was forbidden :^ 
^^And ye sball eat neitber bread, nor parcbed corn, nor fresb ears, niitil 
tbis selfsame day, until ye have brought the oblation of your God." 
From that day seven weeks, or forty-nine days, were counted, ^ to tbe 
feast of Pentecost; hence its Hebrew name Hag ha-Shabuoth "feast 
of weeks," and the usual English name " Pentecost," which is the 
nevrrjjioffTT] penteJwste, meaning the fiftieth day. It is also called 
"feast of harvest,"^ because the grain harvest then approached its 
close, and "day of first fruits,"^ because two loaves of bread from the 
new wheat were offered on that feast.' With the destruction of the 
Temple the ceremony of waving the sheaf in the Sanctuarj^ necessarily 
fell away, but the counting is still observed and the prayers contained 
in the tablet form part of the ritual during the time from Passover to 
Pentecost. 

LuLAB AND Ethrog. — The Lulab and Ethrog, bound up with myrtle 
and willow branches, are used by the Jews at the feast of Tabernacles, 
iu pursuance of the command in Leviticus xxiii, 40: "And ye shall 
take you on the first day, the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm 
trees, and boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook, and ye shall 
rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." Each day of the feast 
a circuit {haqqafah) is made during the service with the Lulab in the 
right hand and Ethrog in the left, while reciting the prayers j begin- 
ning and closing with the invocation "Hosanna." On the seventh day 
seven such processions take place and willow branches are beaten 
on the benches, and this day is therefore called Rosannah Rahhali^ the 
day of the great Hosanna. 

Manuscript copy of the Book of Esther, written on parchment, 
with hand -painted views illustrating the events narrated in the book. — 
The Book of Esther is usually called Megilla (roll), or more fully Megil- 
lath Esther (roll of Esther). It is read in the Synagogue on the feast 
of Purim^ on the loth of Adar (March-April), established to commem- 
orate the deliverance of the Jews from the machinations of Haman 
related in this book. It is one of the "five rolls" {hamesh megilloth) 
which are read on various occasions in the Synagogue, the others being 
the Songs of Solomon or Canticles, Euth, Ecclesiastes, and Lamenta- 
tions. 

Lamp used at the Eeast of Dedication (HanuMah). (See plate 
17, fig. 2.) The Feast of Dedication is celebrated in commemoration 
of the iDurging of the temple and restoration of the altar after Judas 
Maccabseus had driven out the Syrians in 164 B. 0. Its institution is 

' Leviticus xxiii, 14. 

2 Leviticus xxiii, 15 ; Deuteronomy xvi, 9. 

^'Exodus xxiii, 16. 

^ Numbers xxviii, 26 ; compare Exodus xxxiv, 22. 

■"'Leviticus xxiii, 17. Since tlie dispersion Pentecost has been connected by tradi- 
tion with the day on which the Law was given on Mount Sinai and the festival is 
called hag mattan torali, the feast of the giving of the law. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 18, 




Figs. 1-3. Knife and Cup of Circumcision. 

(Cat. No. 154437, U. S.N.M. Philadelphia, Penusylvauia. Collected by Mayer Sulzberger). 

Fig. 4. Spice Box. 

(Cat. No. 130297, U. S. N. M. Germany.) 



Report of U, S. National Museum, 1 896.— Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 18. 








Implements of Circumcision, and Spice Box. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 19. 




Passover Plate. 

Constantinople. 
Cat. No. 130291, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 20. 




Omer Tablet. 

Cat. No. 154404, US N.M. Deposited by David Sulzberger. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 997 

recorded in I Maccabees iv, 47-59. According to Joseph us/ it was 
called ''ligbts" ((p(^rayp]iota). In the 'New Testiment^ it is mentioned 
under the name of syxaivia {enlcainia). In the Talmud we have the 
legend that when the Jews entered the temple after driving out the 
Syrians, they found only one bottle of oil which had not been polluted, 
and that this was miraculously increased so as to feed the lamps of the 
sanctuary for eight days. The festival is held eight days, beginning 
with the 25th of Kislev (December-January). The principal feature of 
its celebration is the lighting of lights, beginning with one light on the 
first night and increasing the number by one light on each of the suc- 
ceeding nights. The specimen is probably of Dutch make and exhibits 
an interesting survival of the ancient Eoman lamps. 

Knife and cup used at circumcision. (See plate 18, fig. 1.) 
The rite of circumcision [miJah) is practiced in pursuance of Genesis 
xvii, 10-12 : ''This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and 
you and thy seed after thee; every male among you shall be circum- 
cised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and 
it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is 
eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout 
your generations." In early times circumcision was performed Avith 
stone knives.^ The later Jews used iron or steel knives. With the 
performance of the rite of circumcision was combined the naming of 
the child.* Circumcision was common in Egypt as early as the fourth 
dynasty.^ At the present day it prevails among the Kaffirs and some 
negro tribes of Africa, in parts of Australia, in many of the South 
Sea Islands, and it is said to be practiced by the Abyssinian Christians 
as a national custom. Early Spanish travelers found it to be prevalent 
in the West Indies, Mexico, and among tribes in South America. It is 
a common rite among Mohammedans everywhere. 

Garment of fringes {Arba Kanfoth). — This garment is worn by 
men in pursuance of the command^ "Thou shalt make thee fringes 
upon the four borders of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself." 
It is usually made of wool, with fringes attached to the four corners, 
and is worn over the shoulders, underneatli the ordinary outer garment. 

Phylacteries [tefillin). (See plate 21.) — Used by Jewish males 
after they attain the age of 13 years and a day, at morning prayers, 
except on Saturday and other feast days. These objects are employed 
in the Jewish ritual in pursuance of the command that the words of 
God should be "a sign upon your hand, and for frontlets between 
your eyes."'^ They consist of parchment cases containing the i>assages 



1 Antiquities xii, 7, 7. 

2 John X, 22. 

3 Compare Exodus iv, 246 ('Mlint"); Joshua v, 2 C knives of flint''). 
^Lukei, 59; ii, 21. 

^Compare Herodotus ii, 36, 37, 104; Wilkinson, Ancient Egypt, ch. xv. 
6 Numbers xv, 37-41, and Dcuiterouomy xxii, 12. 
'' Exodus xiii, 9-10, and Deuteronomy xi, 18. 



998 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

Deuteronomy vi, 4-9, and xi, 13-21, written on slips of -parcliment, 
attached to leather straps for binding on the forehead and left arm. 
In the case for the head the passages are written on four separate strips, 
and in the case for the hand on one piece of parchment, and put into a 
square case. They are called tejillin in the Talmud, a word derived from 
tcfillah (prayer). The New Testament refers to their ostentatious use.' 

Silk prayer shawl ( Tallith). — The tallith is a kind of prayer shawl 
made of silk, wool, or linen, with gigith or fringes fastened to the four 
corners, worn by men at the morning services. It is usually adorned 
with horizontal strijDes of blue or purple; the Jews in the Orient substi- 
tute for these stripes a blue ribband worked in the corners. The wear- 
ing of a garment with fringes is commanded.^ In ancient times this 
garment, it seems, was worn as an outer robe.^ At ])resent the Jews 
wear, besides the tallith, a kind of vest with fringes under the upper 
garments, which is called the '' small tallith" {tallith liaton)^ or the "four 
corners" [arhd hanfotli). 

Gold wedding ring. (See plate 11, fig. 2.) The Jewish marriage 
is made valid by the KiddusJmi, i. e., by the bridegroom putting a ring 
on the hand of the bride while saying the words: "Behold, thou art 
wedded to me by this ring according to the law of Moses and Israel." 

Marriage contract [liethuhah), written on parchment and illumi- 
nated. (See plate 22.) In the liethubah^ or marriage contract, are 
recorded the obligations of the husband and the amount of the dowry 
allowed the bride. There is an established form of the Icethithah usually 
beginning with the words: "Under good auspices, and with good luck 
to bridegroom and bride, 'Whoso flndeth a wife findeth a good thing, 
and obtaineth favor of the Lord.' "* The husband pledges himself to 
love and honor his wife and to x)rovide for her becomingly. The min- 
imum of the dowry is fixed by the law to be 200 shekles (about $50) 
for a virgin and 100 (about $25) for a widow or divorced woman. To 
this is usually added what the bride has received from her parents and 
what the husband settles on her voluntarily, all of which she gets in 
case of the death of the husband, or of divorce. The contract is dated 
Rome, in the year of creation 5576 (1816). The contracting i^artiesare 
Elijah Saki and Masal-Tob (Fortune), of Oastlenuovo. The witnesses 
to the contract are Josua Gerson Ashkenazi and Michael Chayim 
Megula. 

The margin is decorated with various symbolical figures, and contains 
the liturgy of the wedding ceremony and i^assages from the Bible and 
the Talmud referring to marriage and married life, artistically inter- 
twined in garlands. Above, in the center, are probably the arms of the 
bridegroom • to the right a boy standing on a wheel pouring out the 
horn of plenty, with the motto, "All depends on merit and good luck;" 
to the left a female figure with tambourines, and the words, "Peace 

^ Matthew xxiii, 5. 3]y[a,tthew xxiii, 5. 

2 Numbers xv, 37-41; Deuteronomy xxii, 12. ^Proverbs xviii, 22. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896.- Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 21 




Phylacteries {TefiiUn). 
Cat. No. 130276, U.S.N.M. Deposited by David Sulzbergei. 



Report of U. S- National Museum, 1896. — Adierand Casanowlcz. 



Plate 22. 




Marriage Contract (Kethubah). 

Rome, Italy. 
Cat. No. 154633, U.S.N.M. Collected by Dr. G. Brown Goode. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 999 

and welcome to those nigh and far." Below, to the right, is a female 
figure holding two burning hearts linked together by a chain, with the 
adage, ''A well-mated couple is chosen by God " (marriages are made 
in heaven); to the left another female figure holding a tambourine and 
a flower, with a quotation from Isaiah xxxii, 8. The representation at 
the bottom, of Elijah ascending to heaven in a fiery chariot, his mantle 
tailing on his disciple and successor Elisha,^ was probably suggested by 
the name of the bridegroom. 

MizRACH {the east). — Mizrach means east, literally the place of the 
rising sun. There is hung in Jewish houses a tablet on the eastern 
wall to indicate the direction of the face when at prayer. It contains 
the Ten Commandments and various quotations from Scripture in 
Hebrew. The idea which dictates this direction is that the face shall 
be turned toward Jerusalem. West of Jerusalem the opposite direc- 
tion would be chosen. In the temple itself the direction of prayer was 
toward the west, the entrance being from the east. Ancient nations 
that worshiped the sun turned when in prayer toward the east, the 
place of the rising sun. This fact is alluded to in Ezekiel viii, 16 : ^'At 
the door of the temple of the Lord, between the i)orch and the altar, 
were about five and twenty men with their backs toward the temple of 
the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the 
sun toward the east.'' 

Knife with its sheath, used for the slaughtering of animals. (See 
plate 17, fig. 3.) The killing of animals for food is performed by a 
person especially trained and authorized, called sliochet. The throat is 
cut with a long knife (lialaf) and the internal organs are examined for 
traces of disease. The act of killing is called shechita; that of search- 
ing, hedika. During both acts short prayers are recited. If there be 
a notch (pegima) in the knife, or if any trace of disease be found, the 
animal is unfit (terefa) to be eaten. 

ANTIQUITIES. 

Next to the Israelites, with whom the Scriptures originated, the 
antiquities of those nations with whom Israel came in close contact, 
and who to a great extent influenced the course and development of the 
history narrated in the Bible, claim the interest of the Bible student. 
The exhibits in this department consisted of objects representing 
Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and the Hittites. 

EGYPT. 

Oast of a bust of Uamses II. — Ramses II ^ was the third king 
of the nineteenth dynasty and the most brilliant monarch of Egypt. 
He was formerly identified as the Pharaoh of the Exodus ; later author- 
ities hold that that event took place five years after his death. He 
was, however, in all probability, the Pharaoh of the oppression. The 



' II Kings ii, 11-13. ^ Tho Scsostris of the Greeks. 



1000 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

reasons for this supposition are that the hind of Goshen in which 
the Israelites settled when they migrated to Egypt ^ is also called the 
land of Eamses, and that one of the cities which the Israelites built 
while in bondage was named Eamses.^ As Kamses I reigned only for 
a short time, it is assumed that these names are connected Avith Ram- 
ses II, whose reign extended over sixty-six years in the thirteenth 
century S. 0. (1348-1281 B. 0.); and who was not only the most war- 
like but also the greatest builder among the Egyj^tian kings. The 
cities Pithom and Eamses which the Hebrews built for Pharaoh are 
thought to have been situated in the modern Wadi Tumilat. Pithom 
was identified in 1883 with Tell el-Maskutah in the east of this Wadi 
at the railroad station Eamses. Besides the building of these two 
cities and numerous temples, Eamses II seems also to have undertaken 
the continuation of the canal of the Wadi Tumilat to the Bitter Lakes, 
and the cutting through of the rising ground between them and the 
Eed Sea, which connection between the iS^ile and the Eed Sea was 
the true j)recursor of the Suez Ganal.^ The bust, which is taken from 
a sitting statue, represents him beardless with a helmet on his head. 
The original, of black granite, is in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities 
in Turin, Italy. 

Cast of a relief of Eamses II. — Photographs of the mummy of 
Eamses II. The mummy was discovered in July, 1881. The plioto- 
graphs were taken immediately after the unwinding of the mummy in 
June, 1886.4 

^ Genesis xlvii, 6. 

2 Exodus i, 11. 

^Compare Adolf Ermau, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 27. 

^ Century Magazine, May, 1887. This mummy is in many ways the finest ever 
discovered and is of surpassing interest. Professor Maspero describes it as follows: 
"The head is long, and small in proportion to the body. The top of the skull is quite 
bare. On the temples there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite 
thick, forming smooth straight locks about 5 centimeters in length. White at the 
time of deathj they have been dyed a light yellow by the spices used in embalmment. 
The forehead is low and narrow; the brow ridge prominent; the eyebrows are thick 
and white; the eyes are small aud close together; the nose is long, thin, arched like 
the noses of the Bourbons, and slightly crushed at the tip by the pressure of bandages. 
The temples are sunken; the cheek bones very prominent; the ears round, standing 
far out from the head, and pierced like those of a woman for the wearing of earrings. 
The jawbone is massive and strong; the chin very prominent; the mouth small, but 
thick-lipped and full of some kind of black paste. This paste being partly cut 
away with the scissors disclosed some much worn and brittle teeth, which, moreover, 
are white and well preserved. The mustache aucf beard are thin. They seemed to 
have been kept shaven during life, but were probably allowed to grow during the 
king's illness, or they may have grown after death. The hairs are white like those 
of the head and eyebrows, but are harsh and bristly and from 2 to 3 millimeters in 
length. The skin is of earthy brown, spotted with black. Fiually, it may be said 
the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king. The expression 
is intellectual, perhaps slightly animal, but even under the somewhat grotesque dis- 
guise of mnmification, there is jilainly to be seen an air of sovereign majesty, of 
resolve and of pride." 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1001 

The typical physiognomy of the native Egyptian, as exhibited on the 
numerous monuments, shows a head often too large in proportion to 
the body, a square and somewhat low forehead, a short and round nose, 
eyes large and wide open, the cheeks filled out, the lips thick, but not 
reversed, and the mouth somewhat wide. Contrasting the features 
of Eamses II with these, some scholars have assumed that he was of 
Semitic descent or at least had Semitic blood in his veins. 

Oast of the head of Seti I. — The original is at the Museum of 
Egyptian Antiquities at Cairo, Egypt. Seti I was the second king 
of the nineteenth dynasty and father of Eamses II, the Pharaoh 
of the oppression. He reigned for about. twenty- seven years in the 
thirteenth century B. C. 

Cast of a relief of Seti I. — Photograph of the mummy of Seti I. 
Taken under the direction of Prof. G. Maspero at the Museum of 
Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo, Egypt. 

Cast of the head of Tirhakah. — Original of granite in the 
Museum of Antiquities at Cairo. King of Egypt and Ethiopia, 698-672 
B. C. According to the Biblical account,^ Tirhakah, ^' King of Ethi- 
opia" (in Egyptian Taharqa), encountered Senacherib, King of Assyria, 
while the latter was on his expedition against Judah. Erom the Cunei- 
form inscriptions we learn that Tirhakah entered into an alliance with 
Baal, King of Tyre, against Assyria. Hezekiah, King of Judah, also 
joined the league. Esarhaddon marched into Egypt, and putting Tir- 
hakah to flight he placed the rule of the whole country under twenty 
vassals loyal to Assyria. On the death of Esarhaddon, Tirhakah 
returned to Egypt, drove out the Assyrians that were there, and took 
possession of Memphis. Assurbanipal, the son and successor of Esar- 
haddon (668-626 B. C), at once went to Egypt and defeated him at 
Karbanit. Tirhakah was again obliged to flee to Thebes and thence to 
Nubia. The twenty vassal kings were restored and Necho [Nilcu), 
'' King of Sais and Memphis " put at their head. Soon after this Necho 
headed a rebellion against the Assyrian rule, but the plot was sup- 
pressed by the Assyrian garrison of Egypt and Necho sent in chains 
to ]!^ineveh. But when Assurbanipal heard of the new successes of 
Tirhakah in Egypt, he sent Necho back to rule over all Egypt under 
the direction of Assyria. Tirhakah soon afterwards died. Manetho, 
who calls him Tarlcos {Taralcos), says he was the last king of the 
twenty- fifth dynasty. Strabo (xvi, I, 6) calls him Tearlcon, and describes 
him as one of the greatest conquerors of the ancient world. 

Mummy. — Length, 5 feet 6 inches. Found at Luxor, Egypt, in 1886. 
(See plates 23 and 24.) No hieroglyphics or inscriptions exist either on 
the mummy or outer case. The face and head are covered with a mask 
of green cement, the body delicately jiroportioned. On the chest lie 
four small tablets about the size of playing cards, each one having a 
mummied figure of Osiris in a standing position. Two wshield-shaped 



^ II Kings xix, 9, and Isaiah xxxvii, 9. 



1002 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

ornaments lie across the breast and stomach, resi)ectively. The upi^er 
one bears the sacred beetle with spread wings, beneath which is a 
nilometer standing between two figures, which su^^port each a globe 
upon the head. The faces of these figures are covered with square 
pieces of gold leaf. At the end of the wings is represented the hawk- 
head of l\a, also supporting a globe. Over the surface of the shield 
are painted representations of jewelry. On the lower shield appears a 
kneeling figure of Nephthys, with extended arms and wings. Upon her 
head she wears a headband supporting a globe. On either side of the 
head are two groups, each containing three small figures. Ostrich 
plumes ai)pear in the corner of the shield. Along the legs is a sheet 
of cemented linen, on the top of which is a mummy on a dog-shaped 
bier; at the head of the bier is a figure kneeling, holding an ostrich 
plume; below this is a group of seven kneeling figures holding illumes. 
Further down is a second nilometer, on either side of which a figure 
with an implement in each hand faces two mummied figures, both of 
which have the faces concealed with a square patch of gold leaf. The 
feet are incased in a covering of cemented linen. 

The Egyptians conceived man as consisting of at least three parts — 
the body, the soul, and the iTa, i. e., the double or genius. The Ka 
was supposed to remain in existence after death, and to be the repre- 
sentative of the human personality. In order that the Ka might take 
possession of the body when it pleased, the body had to be preserved 
from decay. The preservation of the body was accordingly the chief 
end of everj^ Egyptian who wished for everlasting life. To this end 
the Egyptians mummified their bodies, built indestructible tombs, 
inscribed the tombs and cofi&ns with magical formulae to repel the 
attacks of the demons, and iDlaced statutes, household goods, food, 
statuettes of servants, etc., that the tomb might resemble as much as 
l)ossible the old home of the deceased.^ The process of mummifying 
the bodies by various meiliods of embalming was of high antiquity in 
Egypt, probably going back to the earliest dynasties j the oldest 
mummy which was found at Saqqarah in 1881, and is now at the 
museum of Gizeh, dates from 3200 B. 0. This practice is said to have 
continued to 500 A. D. The art readied the highest point at TLiebes 
during the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, when spices and 
aromatic substances were used, and the skin of the bodies so ]3repared 
as to retain a slight color and a certain flexibility. What is known of 
the process is derived chiefly from the Greek writers Herodotus^ and 
Diodorus Siculus, ^ and from examinations of the mummies themselves. 
According to these sources the Egyptians employed three methods of 
embalming, of more or less elaborateness, according to the wealth and 
position of the deceased. The most costly mode is estimated by Diodo- 
rus at a talent of silver — about $1,250. The embalmers first removed 
part of the brain through the nostrils by means of an iron hook, 

^ Compare Adolf Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 306. ^ Book ii 85. '^ Book 1 91. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 23. 





Mummy and Cover of Coffin. 

Luxor, Egypt. 
Cat. No. 129790, U.S.N.M. Gift of Hon. S. S. Cox, U. S. Minister to Turliey. 



^ 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 24. 



^ ry;^^^:^pr-ry'rv^^^t^_^'^'-v^^' 5-,— f-— y--^-. 




:H'-"'' 




r ' "i ^v"l*vt^'■' 




Mummy Case. 



» 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1003 

destroying the rest by the infusion of caustic drugs. An incision was 
then made in the side with a sharp Ethiopian stone and the intestines 
removed. The abdomen was rinsed with palm wine and sprinkled 
with powdered perfumes. It was then filled with ])ure myrrh pounded, 
cassia, and other aromatics, frankincense excepted, and sewn up 
again. The body was then steaped in natron (subcarbonate of soda) 
for seventy days, afterwards washed and swathed in strips of linen and 
smeared with gum. The second mode of embalming cost about 20 
minae— about $300. In this case cedar oil was injected into the abdo- 
men. The oil was prevented from escaping, and the body steeped in 
natron for the prescribed time. On the last day the cedar oil was let 
out from the abdomen, carrying with it the intestines in a state of dis- 
solution, while the flesh was consumed by the natron, so that nothing 
was left but the skin and bones. The third method, which was used 
for the i)oorer classes, consisted in rinsing the abdomen with syrinaea, 
an infusion of senna and cassia, and steeiDing the body for the usual 
period in natron. Examinations of Egyptian mummies have proven 
the accounts of Herodotus and Diodorus to be in the main correct. 
For mummies, both with and without ventral incisions, are found, and 
some are preserved by means of balsams and gums, and others by 
bitumen and natrum, and the hundreds of skulls of mummies which 
are found at Thebes contain absolutely nothing, while other skulls are 
found to be filled with bitumen, linen rags, and resin. The term 
"mummy" is derived from the AvsibiG mtuniy a, "bitumen" and the 
Arabic word for mummy is mumiyya " bitumenized thing." The native 
Egyptian word for mummy is sahuJ In the Bible, instances of embalm- 
ing are only met with in connection with the Egyptians, the bodies of 
Jacob and Joseph, who died in Egypt, being thus treated.^ 

Model of a mummy. (See plate 25.) Small wooden figure in 
mummy case. They perhaps represent the servants who accompanied 
their master in the realm of the departed in order to wait on him there, 
and were termed by the Egyptians "answerers" (iishehte)^ i. e., those 
who would answer for the departed and perform the work for him.^ 

Fraoments of mummied doo, cat, crocodile, and other 
ANIMALS. (See plate 25.) The Egyptians believed that their several 
divinities assumed the forms of various animals ; so, for instance, 
Ptah appears as the Apis-bull, Amon as a ram, Sebek is represented as 
a crocodile-headed man, Bastis as a cat-headed woman, etc. These 
animals are therefore venerated as the manifestations or symbols of the 
respective divinities, and the willful killing of one of them was a capital 
offense. These sacred animals were embalmed and buried in graves. 
Thus, at Bubastis, the center of the worship of the goddess Bast, was 

'E. A. Wallis Bndgo, The Mummy, 1893, p. 173. 
2 Genesis L, 2-26. 

=* Adolf Erman, Life in Aneient Egypt, p. 317, and E. A. W. Budge, The Mummy, 
pp. 211-215. 



1004 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



I 



a special cemetery for cats, whicli was recently identified at the modern 
Zagazig. Diodorus Siculus says^ that when a cat died all the inmates |{ 
of the house shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning.^ 

Book of the dead. — A series of original fragments and a facsimile 
of an Egyptian papyrus at the British Museum in London. The 
so-called Egyptian "Books of the Dead" are collections of religious 
texts, hymns, invocations, prayers to the gods, etc., intended for the use 
and protection of the dead in the world beyond the grave. The original 
of the one referred to was found in the tomb of Ani, "Eoyal Scribe" 
and Bcribe of the Sacred Eevenue of all the gods of Thebes, "who is 
accomx)anied on his way through the divers parts of the realm of the 
dead by his wife, Tutu. The hieroglyphic text is accompanied by 
colored vignettes, which depict the various scenes through which the 
deceased has to pass in the nether world, as his appearance before 
Osiris, the Supreme Judge of the dead, the weighing of the heart of the 
departed against the goddess of Truth, etc. The j^rayers and magical 
formulae were written out on a roll of papyrus and bound up inside the 
bandages of the mummy. 

Two ScARABAEi. — The Scarahcens Aegyptiorum, or Ateuclius Sacer, 
that is, the great cockchafer found in tropical countries, was regarded 
in Egypt as the symhol of the god Kheper, who was termed by the 
Egyptians "the father of the gods," and who was later identified with 
the rising sun. As the sun by his daily revolution and reappearance 
typified the return of the soul to the body, the scarabseus, which is in 
Egyptian likewise called Kheper, was the emblem of the revivication of 
tbe body and the immortality of the soul. Models of Scarabaei, made 
of various kinds of materials, usually inscribed with names of gods, 
kings, and other persons, and with magical legends and devices, were 
buried with the mummies (placed on the heart or the finger of the dead) 
and were also worn by the living, X)rincipally as charms. The insects 
themselves have also been found in coffins. 

EaYPTiAN BRICK. — Sun-baked brick from an early tomb, Thebes, 
Egypt. The usual dimensions of an Egyptian brick was from 20 or 17 
to 14J inches in length, 8f to 6J inches in width, and 7 to 4J inches 
thick. It consists of ordinary soil mixed with chopped straw and sun- 
baked. This method of making bricks is alluded to in Exodus v, 18, 
where the oppressed Israelites are told " there shall no straw be given 
you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks." In the ruins of Pithom, one 
of the cities in which the Israelites were employed, three kinds of brick 
were discovered, some with stubble, some with straw, and some with- 
out. Among the paintings of Thebes, one on a tomb represents brick- 
making captives with " taskmasters," who, armed with sticks, are 
receiving the " tale of bricks" and urging on the work. Judging from 
the monuments, the process of making sun-dried bricks was much the 
same as in modern times. The clay or mud was mixed with the neces- 

1 Book 1, 83. 2 E. A. W. Budge, The Mummy, pp. 355-358. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 25. 







•itfiiiiiii' 








Model of a Mummy and Fragments of Mummied Animals. 

Ef^ypt. 
Cat. No. 1.5(1.5, U.S.N.M. Collected hy (JeorK-e K. (Uiddon. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1005 

sary amount of straw or stubble by treacling it down in a shallow pit. 
The prei)arecl clay was carried in hods upon the shoulders and shaped 
into bricks of various sizes/ 

Modern Egyptian brick from Thebes. — Of the same general 
make and character as the ancient specimen. 

Egyptian Cotton. — Cotton of a very fine grade is now grown in 
Egypt. The question as to whether it was known or extensively used 
in that country, or in other lands bordering on the Mediterranean, is 
one that has given rise to much discussion. Authorities on the cotton 
plant have definitely asserted that it was well known in Egypt from 
early times; thus M. Jardin^ states that it is certain that the cotton 
plant existed in Upper Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia in the wild state; 
that it was known to the ancient Egyptians, and that the proof of its 
existence is the finding of some seeds of Gossypium Arhoreum, by 
Bosellini, in the coflin of a mummy. He further holds the opinion that 
linen and cotton were simultaneously employed in Egypt, but that the 
former was more costly than the latter and was reserved for purposes 
relating to the cult. In the valuable work on the Cotton Plant issued 
by the United States Department of Agriculture,^ Mr. E. B. Handy, 
the author of a chapter on the Ancient History of Cotton, holds prac- 
tically the same view.* On the other hand, it has been claimed by 
some authors that cotton was quite unknown in Egypt, a fact largely 
based upon the conclusions arrived at by James Thomson in an article 
on the " Mummy Cloths of Egypt." ^ Mr. Thomson, after twelve years' 
study of the subject, reached the opinion that the bandages of the 
mummy were universally made of linen. It would appear that cotton 
was not well known to the ancient Israelites, for we find it mentioned 
but once in the Bible, in the Book of Esther,^ which, of course, has a 
Persian background and contains a description of a Persian palace. 
The passage reads: '' In the court of the garden of the King's Palace 
there were hangings of white and violet-colored cotton cloths fastened 
with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of mar- 
ble." The Hebrew word translated ''cotton" is " karpas," derived 
from the Sanskrit '' karpasa." 

Between the extremes of opinion, the truth seems to be that cotton 
was indigenous in India and that its products made their way gradually, 
through commerce, to the Mediterranean countries and that the plant 
itself followed gradually either through commerce or by way of Persia. 
It is plain that tlie cotton plant existed in Egypt in the time of Pliny 

' Adolf Erman, Life in Ancient Egyjit, p. 417. 

2Le Cotton, pp. 10, 11. 

^Bulletin 33, Office of Experiment Station. 

iSee also the Descriptive Catalogue of Useful Fiber Plants of the AVorld, by 
Charles Richards Dodge, issued by the Department of Agriculture, 1897. 

•"^London and Edinburg Philosoi)hical Magazine, 3d ser., V, p. 355, cited by Budge 
in The Mummy, p. 190. 

^ Chapter I, verses 5, 6. 



1006 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



(the first century of the Christiau era), and it also seems likely that 
inasmuch as there is no rei)resentation whatsoever on any Egyptian 
monuments thus far found, or on any monuments found in "Western 
Asia, of a cotton i^kiut, that it was not known in that country in early 
days. It is difficult to couckule that so striking an object would not 
have been dei^icted on the monuments, when the ancient artists found 
it possible to figure so many of the various plants known to them. 

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA. 

Illustrating these countries the following specimens were shown: 
Oast of the so-called Oval of S argon. — Tbe original is a 
small egg-shaped piece of veined marble, pierced lengthwise. It was 
discovered by Mr. Hormuzd Eassam at Abu-Habba, Babylonian ^ippar 
(in the Bible tSepharvalni)^ a citj^ from which the King of Assyria 
transported colonists to Samaria. The inscription reads : ''I, Sargon, 
the king of the city. King of Agade, have dedicated this to the Sun-god 
(Samas) of Sippar.'' This king is supposed to have reigned about 
3,800 B. C, and the object is no doubt a contemporary document. 
The date is derived from a statement on the cylinder of ^abonidus 
found at the same place. Xabouidus, the last King of Babylon 
(555-538 B. C), the father of Belshazzar, records that when rebuilding 
the Temple of the Sun-god he found the original foundation stone of 
Naram-Sin, Sargon's son, which none of his predecessors had seen for 
3200 years. Agade, mentioned on the Oval of Sargon, is Akkad, enu- 
merated in the genealogical tablet^ as one of the four cities of Ximrod's 
empire. Akkad was also the name of the entire district of Xorth 
Babylonia.^ 

Model of a temple tower of Babylon. — The model is plaster, 
painted, and was made after the descriptions of the Temple Tower of 
Borsippa, on the scale of one-fourth inch to the foot. (See i^late 26.) 
From the most ancient times the principal cities of Mesopotamia had 
towers. These were used as observatories, also for the performance of 
religious ceremonies, and perhaps in early times for military defense. 
In Genesis xi, 1-9, it is related that certain immigrants began to build 
in the plain of Shinear a city and a tower, which was left incomplete 
in consequence of the confusion of tongues, and the city was thence 
called Babel (confusion). This "Tower of Babel" has been connected 
both by Arab tradition and on the authority of archaeologists with the 
imposing ruins of Birs-xs^imrud ("Nimrod's Tower") on the site of the 
Temple Tower of Xebo, at Borsippa, which was a surburb of the city 
of Babylon, and which in the cuneiform inscriptions is called "Babylon 
the Second." This Temple Tower of Borsippa, termed in the inscrip- 
tions E-zidn ("the eternal house"), was a x^erfect type of these edifices, 
and it has been suggested as probable that the Tower of Babel men- 

1 Genesis x, 10. 

sProc. Society of Biblical Archaeology, VI, p. 68; YII, p. 66; Till, p. 243. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz 



Plate 26. 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1007 

tioued iu Genesis was conceived on the same plan. The Temple of 
Borsippa was reconstructed with great splendor by Nebuchadnezzar 
(604-561 B. C), but he made no changes in the general character and 
plan. According to the description of Herodotus,^ who mistakes it for 
the Temple of Belj and the report of Sir Henry Eawlinson, who care- 
folly examined the mound of Birs-*Mmrud, the Tower of Borsii)pa 
appears to have been constructed on the plan of a step-shaped or ter- 
raced pyramid. Such stepped pyramids have not only survived in 
Egypt, in the Great Pyramid of Sakkarah, but are also found in Mexico 
(at Oholula, City of Mexico, etc.), where they are called Teocallis — i. e., 
"houses of god" — consisting of terraced structures, five to seven stories 
high, and surmounted by a chamber or cell, which is the temple itself. 
It is assumed that these temple -towers were the prototype of the later 
Egyptian pyramids, the stories disappearing in the latter by filling up 
the platforms of the different stages, which produced an uninterrupted 
slope on all sides. The Temple Tower of I^ebo, at Borsippa, was built 
in seven stages, whence it is sometimes called in the inscriptions 
*' Temple of the seven spheres of heaven and earth." Upon an artifi- 
cial terrace of burnt bricks rose the first stage, 272 feet square; on 
this the second, 230 feet square; then the third, 188 feet square, each 
of these three lower stages being 26 feet high. The height of each of 
the four ui)per stories was 15 feet, while their width was 146, 104, 62, 
and 20 feet, resi^ectively, so that the whole edifice, not including the 
artificial terrace, had a height of about 140 feet. The several stages 
were faced with enameled bricks in the colors attributed to the differ- 
ent planets, the first story, representing Saturn, in black; then, in 
order, Jupiter, orange; Mars, red; the Sun, thought to have been 
originally plated with gold; Yenus, white; Mercury, blue, and the 
seventh, dedicated to the Moon, the head of tlie Babylonian x^antheon, 
was plated with silver. The floors of the platforms were probably 
inlaid with mosaics. The whole structure terminated in a chapel placed 
on the central axis of the tower and surmounted by a cupola. Accord- 
ing to Herodotus there stood in the spacious sanctuary on the top of 
the tower a couch of unusual size, richly adorned, with a golden table 
by its side. But no statue of any kind was set up in the chamber, nor 
was it occupied at night by anyone but a native woman. The top 
stage was also used as an observatory. Double converging stairs or 
gently ascending ramps led up to the several platforms. 

The Chaldean Deluge Tablet. — Containing the cuneiform text 
of the Babylonian account of the Deluge as restored by Prof. Paul 
Haupt. Engraved in clay under the direction of Professor Haupt, by 
Dr. K. Zehnpfund, of Rosslau, Germany. Measurement, 8'J by 6|| inches. 
The Babylonian story of the Deluge is contained in the eleventh tablet 
of the so-called Izdubar or Gilgamesh'^ legends, commonly known 
under the name of the Babylonian Nimrod Epic. The Babylonian 



' Book i^ 181-183. ^This name is also read by some Gizdubar and Gibel-gamesh. 



1008 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

narrative of the Deluge closely accords both in matter and language 
with the biblical account as contained in Genesis vi-viii. Xisnthrus 
or Hasisadra, the hero of the Babylonian account, corresponding to 
the Biblical Xoah, is informed by a god of the coming flood and ordered 
to build a shii) to preserve himself, his family, and friends, and various 
animals. After he had sent out divers birds (a dove, swallow, and 
raven) he landed on the mountain Mzir, in Armenia, and dffers a sacri- 
fice to the gods, after which he is transferred to live with the gods. 
The originals were found during the British excavations in the Valley 
of the Euphrates and Tigris, and are now preserved in the British 
Museum, in London. There was also exhibited a cast of some of the 
original fragments now preserved in the British Museum. 

Cast of a colossal human-headed winged lion, 11 by 9 feet; 
original of yellow limestone in the British Museum. It was found by 
Sir Austen H. Layard in 1816 at Kuyunjik on the site of ancient Xine- 
veh, and is supposed to belong to the period of Asurnazirpal, who 
reigned 884-860 B. 0. Figures of composite animals of stone or metal, 
sometimes of colossal size, were placed by the Assyrians at the entrances 
to the temples of the gods and the palaces of the kings. They were 
considered as emblems of divine power, or genii (Assyrian, shedii), and 
believed to ^'exclude all evil." Lions were also placed "beside the 
stays" and on either side of the steps of the gilded ivory throne of 
Solomon.^ Some Assyriologists connect the Assyrian winged and com- 
posite beings with those seen by the prophet Ezekiel in his vision of 
the '^chariot," as described in the first chapter of his prophecies, and 
the cherubim guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden- and those 
carved on the Ark of the Covenant.^ Parallels are also found in the 
religious figures of other peoples, as the sphinx of the Egyptians and 
Persians, the chimera of the Greeks, and the griffin of northeastern 
mythology. It would seem that the composite creature form was 
intended to symbolize either the attributes of divine essence or the vast 
powers of nature as transcending that of individual creatures. 

The winged lion, called ''Xergal," was also sacred to Anatis and to 
Beltis, the goddess of war. 

Cast of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II, King of 
Assyria 860-824 B. C. The original of black basalt, which is now i)re- 
served in the British Museum, was accidentally discovered by Sir 
Austen Henry Layard at Mmrud, on the site of the Biblical Calah,'' 
about 19 miles below Mneveh. The obelisk is about 7 feet high. The 
terraced top and the base are covered with cuneiform script containing 
a record of Shalmaneser's campaigns nearly to the last year of his long 

■ I Kings X, 19, 20. 
- Genesis iii, 24. 

"Exodus XXV, 18, etc. Compare also tlie '^fonr living creatures" in Revelations 
V, 14 ; vi, 1. 

* Genesis x, 12. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1009 

reign. The upper part is occupied by five compartments of bas-reliefs 
running in horizontal bands around the four sides, and representing 
processions of tribute bearers from five nations. Narrow bands between 
the compartments contain short legends descriptive of the scenes repre- 
sented. The Black Obelisk and the other monuments of Shalmaneser II 
supplement the Biblical narrative We learn from them that he was 
the first Assyrian king, so far as is yet known, to come into relations 
with Israel. Among the tribute bearers represented on the obelisk are 
Israelites, and in the second row is a legend reading, "Tribute of Ya'ua, 
son of Humri: silver, gold, vials of gold, cups of gold, pans of gold, 
vessels of gold, of lead, scepters for the King's hand, axes I received."^ 
In the record of the sixth year of his reign (854 B. 0.) Shalmaneser 
relates his victorious campaign against Benhadad, King of Damascus 
(in the inscription Dadidri), Ishiluna of Hamat, and their confederate 
kings. From another inscription engraved by Shalmaneser in the rocks 
of Armenia it is learned that one of the allies of this great coalition 
led by Benhadad against Assyria was Ahab, King of Israel (in the 
Assyrian inscription Ahabbu Sirlai), who had furnished 2,000 chariots 
and 10,000 soldiers. Neither of these facts — the participation of Ahab 
in the Syrian league and the payment of tribute to Shalmaneser by 
Jehu — is recorded in the Bible. This King is not to be confounded 
with Sbalmaneser IV (727-722 B. 0.), who is mentioned in II Kings 
xviii, 9, in connection with the conquest of Samaria.^ 

Oast of a bell, the original of which is in the Royal Museum of 
Berlin. The bell is decorated in bas-relief with the figure of Ea, the 
Assyro-Babylonian divinity of the ocean, also called the "Lord of Pro- 
found Wisdom," and hence considered as the god of science and culture. 
He is represented in human form covered over by a fish. He is prob- 
ably identical with the Oannes, described by theOhaldean priest Bero- 
sus as the founder of civilization. Through a mistaken etymology of 
Dagon from Hebrew dag, fish, the Philistine divinity of that name, men- 
tioned in I Samuel v, was thought to have been a fish god and identified 
with the water god Ea. Dagon was also a divinity of the Assyro- 
Babylonians, known by the name of Dagan, but had no connection with 
the water. He was considered by the Phenicians and, therefore, pre- 
sumably, by the Philistines also, as the god of agriculture.^ Besides 
the representation of Ea, there are also on the bell figures of several 
demons and a priest. 

^11 Kings ix and x. 

2 This niouument is described by Theo. G. Pinches, British Mnsenm, Guide to the 
Niinioud Central Saloon, 1886, pp. 26-45; the inscription is translated by Dr. Edward 
Hincks, Dublin University Magazine, XLII, 1853, pp. 420-426; A. II. Sayce, Records 
of the Past, V, pp. 27-42.' 

^See A. H. Sayce, Ilibbort Lectures on the Rt^ligiou of the Ancient Babylonians, 
pp. 188, 189, and in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible under Dagon, and The Sunday 
School Times, May 27, 1893. 

NAT MUS 90 04 



1010 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

THE HITTITES. 

The Hittites (Hebrew Hittim) are derived in the Bible from Heth, son 
of Canaan, the son of Ham.^ They are depicted as an important tribe 
settled in the region of Hebron on the hill,^ and are often mentioned as 
one of the seven principal Canaanitish tribes, and sometimes as com- 
prising the whole Canaanitish population.^ 

From Abraham to Solomon the Hittites came more or less in contact 
with Israel. Numbers of them remained with the Jews even as late as 
the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.'* Hittite kings are mentioned as set- 
tled north of Palestine,^ and some scholars distinguish the latter as 
Syrian Hittites from the Canaanite tribe. Recently the Hittites have 
been identified with the Cheta of the Egyptian and Chatti of the 
Assyrian monuments. 

From the notices on these monuments it is gathered that this i>eopie 
at an early period constituted a mighty power, dominating, for a time, 
the territory from the Euphrates to the ^Egean, and standing forth as 
rivals of Egypt and Assyria. As early as the seventeenth century 
B. C, a struggle began for supremacy between Egypt and the Hittites, 
which lasted for five hundred years, when Ramses II defeated the 
Hittites at Kadesh, on the Orontes. He did not conquer them, how- 
ever, but was compelled to make an alliance. From the twelfth to tbe 
eighth century B. C, the Hittites were in conflict with Assyria, until 
the Assyrian King, Sargon, put an end to the Hittite dominion in 717 
B. C, when the inhabitants of Carchemish, the Hittite capital in Syria 
(the modern Jerablus on the Euphrates), were deported to Assyria, and 
the city was repeopled with Assyrian colonists. 

Of late there have been added to the Biblical, Egyptian, and Assy- 
rian sources numerous monuments which were discovered throughout 
Asia Minor and Northern Syria, and which are by some scholars 
attributed to the Hittites. The beginning was made by two Americans, 
Mr. J. Augustus Johnson, of the United States consular service, and 
Rev. S. Jessup, who in 1870 found Hittite inscriptions at Hama, in 
Syria. Later discoveries were made, especially by Humann and Puch- 
stein, under the auspices of the German Government (1872), and by 
Ramsay and Hogarth (1890). The monuments, mostly of black basalt, 
contain representations in bas-relief of religious objects, winged figures, 
deities standing on various animals, sphinxes, gryx)hons, the winged 
disk, as symbol of the deity, the two headed eagle (which became the 
standard of the Seljukian Turks, and afterwards of Austria and Russia, 
etc.), and inscriptions in hieroglyphic characters, written in alternat- 
ing lines from right to left and left to right [doustrophedon). The art 
exhibited on these monuments is of a primitive, rude character, and 
recalls the early art of Babylonia, Greece, and Phenicia. The inscrip- 



' Genesis x, 15. •'Ezra ix, 1. 

"Idem, xxiii, 2. ^I Kings x, 29; II Kings vii, 6. 

^Joshua, 4, etc. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1011 

tions have not yet been deciphered, and the race affinity of the 
Hittites and the place of their language among linguistic families are 
still disputed questions. Thus, J. Halevy^ considers the originators of 
these monuments as Semites; P. Jensen^ would designate them as 
Aryans (Cilicians), while the Italian, Cesare de Cara^ identifies them 
with the Pelasgians, the ancient prehistoric inhabitants of the Grecian 
countries. 

The pictorial representations of the Hittites, on the Egyptian as well 
as on their own monuments, show that they were a short, stout race, 
with yellow skin, receding foreheads, oblique eyes, black hair, and 
chin, as a rule, beardless. They wore conical caps and boots with 
upturned tips. These characteristics would seem to suggest that they 
were neither of Semitic nor Aryan origin, but belonged to the Mongo- 
lian or Turanian family, and this is as yet the more prevalent opinion.* 
The following casts of Hittite sculptures were shown: 

Oast of a colossal statue of the god Hadad, inscribed in 
the old Aramean dialect. (See plate 27.) The original of dolorite, 
now preserved in the Royal Museum of Berlin, was discovered by von 
Luschan and Humann at Gertchin, near Seiijirli, which is about 70 miles 
to the northeast of Antioch in northern Syria. The excavations in this 
region were carried on by these scholars between 1888 and 1891 under 
the auspices of the German Oriental committee constituted for that 
purpose. The most important finds made during these excavations, 
besides the statue of Hadad, were the stele of Esarhaddon, King of 
Asyria, 681-668 B. 0., bearing an inscription in Assyrian cuneiform 
writing, and a statue erected by Bar-Eekub to the memor}^ of his father 
Panammu, King of Samaal, the ancient Semitic name of the region of 
Senjirli, inscribed, like the statue of Hadad, in the old Aramean dia- 
lect. Both these Aramean inscriptions are cut in high relief, like the 
hieroglyphic inscriptions on the Hittite monuments. The character of 
the writing resembles that of the Moabite stone and the language bears 
a closer resemblance to Hebrew than the Aramaic of the later period. 

The statue of Hadad was erected by Panammu, son of Karul, King of 
Ja'di, in northern Syria, in the eighth century B. 0., to the gods El, 
Eeshet^ Eakubel, Shemesh, and above all to Hadad. Hadad was the 
name of the supreme Syrian deity, the Baal, or Sun god, whose worship 
extended from Oarchemish, the ancient Hittite capital in Syria, to Edom 
and Palestine. 

Many Edomite and Syrian kings bore the name of the deity as a 
title.'' In Zachariah xii, 11, there is mentioned a place in the valley of 

' Kcvue Scmitiqno for 1893 and 1894. 

2 Zeitsclirift der Dcutschen MorgenUindisclieii Gesellscliaft XL VIII, p. 235. 

3 Gil Hethei-Pelasgi. 

•1 Compare A. H. Sayce, The Hittites: the story of a forgotten Empire, London, 
1888; Campbell, The Hittites, their inscriptions and their history, London, 1891; 
W. Wright, Empire of the Hittites, 1884. 

^ Compare Genesis xxxvi, 35 ; II Samuel viii, 3 ; Hadadezer, etc. 



1012 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



H 



Megiddo nam<'d after tbe two Syrian divinities ''Hadad-Eimmon." 
Coins bear tbe name of Abd-Hadad, "servant of Hadad," wl)o reigned 
in the fourth century B. C, at Hieropolis, the later successor of Carche- 
mish, and in the Assyrian inscriptions there occurs the abbreviated 
form of "Dada, god of Aleppo." Of the four other divinities named, 
El became the generic term for deity among Hebrews and Assyrians. 
Sbemesh is the Sun god (Assyrian Shamash). Eeshef appears to be a 
Hittite divinity, while Eekubel is met with here for the first time. The 
inscription contains thirty-four lines. The first part (lines 1 to 15) 
contains the dedication of Panammu to the gods to whom the monument 
was erected, who conferred on him the government over Ja'di, and 
granted the land plenty and abundance. The second part (lines 13 to 
24) relates the injunction of Kami to his son Panammu, that he erect 
a statue to Hadad and honor him with sacrifices. The third part (lines 
24 to 34) contains the usual curses against those who should destroy, 
deface, or carry oft' the monument.^ 

Hittite divinity, with trident and hammer. (See plate 28.) Cast 
from original of dolerite at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, Germany. 
Found at Seujirli, Asia Minor. 

Hittite winged divinity, Avith head of grifibn. (See plate 29.) 
Cast from original of dolerite at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, Germany. 
Found at Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Hittite God of the Chase, holding hares. (See plate 30.) Cast 
from original of dolerite at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, Germany. 
Found at Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Hittite figure, surmounted by winged sun disk. Cast from orig- 
inal of calcareous rock at Boghazkeui, Asia Minor. (See i^late 31.) 
The winged solar disk was the emblem of the supreme divinity among 
the Hittites, Egyptians, and Assyrians. 

Hittite winged sphinx, with human head. (See plate 32.) Cast 
from original, of dolerite, at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, Germany. 
Found at Senjirli, Asia Minor. It is assumed that the Hittite, not the 
Egyptian, form of the sphinx was the prototype of the sphinx as rep- 
resented by the Greeks. 

Hittite winged sphinx, with double head of man and lion. (See 
plate 33.) Cast from original, of dolerite, at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, 
Germany. Found at Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Hittite king, in long robe, with scepter and spear. (See plate 34.) 
Cast from original, of dolerite, at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, Germany. 
Found at Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Three Hittite warriors. (See plate 35.) Cast from original, of 
calcarous rock, at Boghazkeui, Asia Minor. The high-peaked cap and 
the pointed boots seen on the figures are still in use among the peas- 
antry in Asia Minor. 

^Compare Ausgrabungen in Sendscbirli I, 1893 (published by the Berlin Museum), 
Prof. D. H. Mueller in Zeitschrift fuer die Kunde des Morgenlandes YII; Nos. 2 and 
3^ and in Contemporary Review of April, 1894. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1 896.— Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 27= 





Hadad. 

G(^rtcliiii, Northern Syria. 

Original in Royal Museinn, Berlin. 

Cat. No. J 55007, U.S.N.M. 



Peport of U. S. National Museum, 1 896.— Adier and Casanov 



Plate 28. 






tJOkJ^ 




HiTTiTE Divinity with Trident and Hammer. 

Original iu Roj'al Museum, Berlin. 
Cat. No. 155032, U.S.N.M. 



* Mi. 




n 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz 
BnHHHHHHPMHMHMMniiHHIHHH 



Plate 29. 





HiTTiTE Winged Divinity with Head of Griffon. 

Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

OriKi"!!^' '•' Hoyal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. ir).JO;«, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 30. 




HiTTiTE God of the Chase holding Hares. 

Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. 15.5030, U.S.N.M. 



Repoit of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 31 




HiTTiTE Figure surmounted by Winged Sun Disk. 

Bo^hazkeui, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. L-jSOlS, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U, S. Nationa' Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 32. 





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Report of U. S. Nationai Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 33. 




HiTTiTE Winged Sphinx with Double Head of Man and Lion. 

Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. 155039, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1 896,— Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 34. 




HiTTiTE King with Scepter and Spear. 

Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. 155040, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 35. 




HiTTiTE Warriors. 

Boghazkeui, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. 155013, U.S.N M. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 36. 



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JeiDort of U. S National Museum. 1 896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 37. 




HiTTiTE Warrior with Ax and Sword. 

Senjirli, Asia Minor. 

Original in Royal Museum, Berlin. 

Cat. No. ir)r>041, U.S.N.M. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1013 

HiTTiTE LUTE PLAYER. — Oast from Original, of dolerite, at the Eoyal 
Museum, Berliu, Germany. Found at Senjirli, Asia Minor. (See 
plate 8.) 

HiTTiTE LION CHASE. (See plate 36.) This relief, which probably 
served to decorate the gate of a temple or palace, plainly exhibits 
Assyrian influence. As on Assyrian hunting scenes, the lion is chased 
from a chariot occupied by the charioteer and the archer. In front of 
the chariot and its spirited horse the lion is attacked by two men, who 
drive spears in the fore and hind parts of its body. The whole scene 
combines archaism with vivid and powerful naturalism. The original, of 
granite, was found at Saktschegozu and is now in the Eoyal Museum 
of Berlin, Germany. 

HiTTiTE WARRIOR, with ax and sword. (See plate 37.) Cast from 
original, of dolerite, at the Eoyal Museum, Berlin, Germany. Found at 
Senjirli, Asia Minor. The relief probably served to decorate the gate 
of a temple or palace. 

COLLECTION OF BIBLES. 

The last section of the exhibit consisted of a small collection of 
bibles, arranged so as to show the originals and the versions. It 
included manuscripts and old and rare editions of the original texts, 
as well as copies of the most important ancient and modern transla- 
tions of the scriptures. This part of the exhibit was not only of 
interest to biblical students, but also served to illustrate the study 
of palaeography. 

The Old Testament. — ^The Old Testament is mainly written in the 
Hebrew language, which was the Semitic dialect spoken in Canaan. 
It is cognate to Assyrian, Arabic, Ethiopic, and Aramean, and most 
closely allied to Phenician and Moabite. Daniel ii, 4, to vii, 28, and 
Ezra iv, 8, to vi, 18, and vii, 12-2G, are written in Aramean; also a few 
words in Genesis and Jeremiah. 

The canon of the Old Testament is divided by the Jews into three 
portions— the law, the prox)hets, and the writings — and subdivided into 
twenty-four books. Josephus counts twenty- two books, which, was fol- 
lowed by Origen. The fixing of the canon goes back by tradition to 
Ezra and the men of the great synagogue; some, however, are of the 
oi)inion that the canonicity of the prophets and writings (Greek hagi- 
ographa, or sacred writings) was settled much later. According to the 
present actual count the Old Testament contains thirty-nine books. 
This, however, does not argue a different content from ancient times — 
simi)ly a further subdivision of books. 

Before the Exile the books were written in the ancient Phenician 
characters which appear in some ancient Phenician inscriptions, on the 
Moabite stone, on some coins of the Maccabees, and in the Samaritan 
Pentateuch. In the i)eriod following the Exile and Um restoration of 
Ezra the st^uare letters, also called "Assyrian script," which are repre- 



1014 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

sen ted in the printed editions of the Old Testament, had gradually been 
introduced. 

Originally the Hebrew text was written without divisions into chap- 
ters and verses, and earlier still, no doubt, without divisions into words. 
Great care, however, was observed to transmit the text correctly. 
Josephus asserts that '-no one has been so bold as either to add any- 
thing to them, take anything from them, or to make any change in 
them" (the books of the Bible). Philo Judseus asserts that "the Jews 
have never altered one word of what was written by Moses," and in the 
Talmud a scribe is exhorted as follows: "My son, take care how thou 
doest thy work (for thy work is a divine one), lest thou drop or add a 
letter." 

]!!irevertlieless, it seems likely that errors crept into the text. Accord- 
ingly, a body of Jewish scholars known as the Massorites labored for 
eight centuries (the second to the tenth of the Christian era) to fix the 
text. They added a number of marginal readings where the text was 
obscure or faulty, introduced a system of i^unctuation and accents, and 
made divisions into chapters, paragraphs, and verses. They counted 
and recorded the number of sections, verses, words, and even letters 
contained in the different books. The work of the Massorites on the 
original text of the Old Testament closes with the schools of Aaron 
ben Asher in Palestine and Moses ben Xapthali in Babylonia, and 
it is generally admitted that the text has been handed down to us in 
a comi^aratively pure and trustworthy form. The oldest complete 
manuscrii)t of the Old Testament which is known dates from the 
year 1009 A. D. 

The Xew Testament. — The Kew Testament was written in Greek 
in its Hellenistic idiom. The original handwork of the authors per- 
ished early. The oldest manuscripts known date from the fourth 
century. The canon of the ]N"ew Testament as it now stands and is 
accepted by all the churches was fixed by the councils of Hi^ipo (393) 
and Carthage (397) under the influence of St. Augustine. The present 
division of chai^ters in the New Testament was originated by Cardinal 
Hugo of St. Caro in the thirteenth century; that of the verses was 
made in imitation of the Old Testament, and is first found in the 
Latin translation of the Yulgate, and only as late as 1551 was it placed 
by Eobert Stephanus on the margin of the Greek text. 

The following specimens were shown: 

Hebrew Bible. Facsimile of Aleppo Codex. (^See plate 38.) The 
original manuscript is preserved in the synagogue at Aleppo, Syria. 
It is assigned to ^aron ben Asher (beginning of the tenth century), 
and considered as one of the best authorities for the text of the Old 
Testament, but is probabh^ of somewhat later origin.^ 

Fragments of manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. (See plates 
39 and 40.) Thirteenth centurj^ Containing a portion of the Psalms 



1 Wicke's Treatise on the Accentuation of tke Prose Books of the Old Testament. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896.— Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 38. 



"t-f-^.'^^^i 

























<tW#*i^^A«l» IftH iHl* ii7MkLir> tfni utMfm, ftif «niHfrrlll>«i Ml lTii»l 

Xrs:<ryA.KYl^^ 
'•■ y jyvp^rt^ 



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Facsimile of Aleppo Codex (Genesis xxvi, 34; xxvii, 30). 

Aleppo, Syria. 
Cat. No. 155083, U.S.N.M. 



Report of U, S, National Museum, 1 896 — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 39. 








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Report of U. S National Museum, 1 896.— Adler and Casanowicz. 



Plate 40. 




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.^^^. 



Hebrew Manuscript of the Thirteenth Century (Deuteronomy v, i-O). 

Cairo, Egypt. 
Cat. No. 155081, U.S.N. M. Deposited by Dr. Cyrus Acller. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1015 

(cxxix to cxxxii, 14) and Deuteronomy y, 1-6. These were no doubt 
from the Genizah, since made famous by the great manuscript finds 
of Dr. S. Schechter^ of Cambridge, England. 

Printed editions of the Hebrew Bible. — Soon after the inven- 
tion of the art of i)rinting parts of the Old Testament were published. 
Thus the Psalter with Kamchis Commentary appeared in 1477 (place 
unknown) J the Pentateuch with the Targum and the Commentary of 
Eashi in 1482 at Bologna, Italy. The first complete Hebrew Bible was 
printed at Sonciuo, Italy, in 1488. The second edition has neither date 
nor place. The third was published at Brescia, Italy, in 1494. It was 
the one used by Luther for his German translation. The present copy 
shown was a reprint, with slight alterations, of the Bible printed by 
Daniel Bomberg at Venice in 1517. In this edition the first eftbrt was 
made to give some of the Massoretic apparatus. It contains, besides 
the Hebrew original, several of the Chaldean Targums and com- 
mentaries. The editor was Felix Pratensis. 

Hebrew Bible, without vowel points, Antwerp, 1573-74. — This 
Bible was printed by the famous printer, Christopher Plan tin (born 
1514, died 1589). 

Hebrew Bible, edited by Elias Hutter (three volumes), Hamburg, 
1587. — Hutter was professor of Hebrew at Leipsic. The peculiarity of 
this Bible consists in the fact that the roots are x)rinted in solid black 
letters, whereas the prefixes, suffixes, and formative letters (called ser- 
vile letters In Hebrew grammar) are shaded. 

The Hebrew Bible, first American edit'ion (see plate 41), pub- 
lished by Thomas Dobson, Philadelphia, 1814 (two volumes), printed by 
William Fry. — In 1812 Mr. Horwitz had proposed the publication of 
this edition of the Hebrew Bible, the first proposal of this kind in the 
United States. Early in 1813 he transferred his right and list of sub- 
scribers to Mr. Thomas Dobson. The work was advertised as follows 
in "Poulson's American Daily Advertiser," Monday, May 30, 1814: 



Hebrew Bible 

This day is published, 

By Thomas Dobsou, 

No. 41, SoTitli Second Street 

The First American Edition of 

The Hebrew Bible, 

Without the Points. 

Elegantly printed by William Fry, with a new fount of Hebrew Types, cast on pur- 
pose for the work by Binney & Ronaldson, on the best superline wove paper, 
two large volumes octavo. 
Price in hoards, Fifteen Dollars. 

Subscribers will receive their copies at Subscription Price by applying to Thomas 
Dobson as above. This arduous undertaking the lirst of the kind attouiptod in the 
United States is now happily accomplished. The work is considered as one of the 
finest specimens of Hebrew Pi'ltitiny ever executed : and it is hoped will be generally 



1016 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896 



encouraged hj tlie Reverend Clergy of different denominations, and "by other lovers 
of the Sacred Scriptures in the Hebrew Language. 

Polychrome edition of the Old Testament, edited by Prof. 
Paul Haupt, since 1892. — Some modern scholars are of the opinion that 
some of the books of the Old Testament as they now stand in the 
received text of the Massorites are composed of several sources. A com- 
pany of these scholars under the editorial supervision of Prof. Paul 
Haupt is preparing an edition, representing by various colors the com- 
ponent parts as well as the portions which they consider as later 
additions. 

Leicester Codex of the Xew Testament. Facsimile. Origi- 
nal preserved in the archives of the borough of Leicester, England. — 
It is written in cursive script (i. e,, in a continuous running hand), and 
is usually ascribed to the eleventh century. In the opinion of Prof. J. 
Kendel Harris the manuscript is of Italian origin, and no earlier than 
the fourteenth or even the fifteeenth century. 

Greek and Latin New Testament of Erasmus. (See plate 42.) 
Editio princeps. Printed by Frobenius in Basel, 1516. — The first com- 
plete book produced by the printing press was a Latin Bible in 1456. 
The Greek ^e>w Testament was first printed in the Comi)luteusian Poly- 
glot (so called from the Latin name of Alcala, Spain, where it was 
printed) of Cardinal Ximenes in 1514, but it was not issued until 1520. 
The edition of the Greek New Testament, by Erasmus, was, therefore, 
the first ever published, and became, with a few modifications, the 
received text printed by Elzevir in Leiden. Luther's translation was 
based ui)on it. To the Greek original Erasmus added a corrected Latin 
version with notes. 

Greek Testament. (See plate 43.) First American edition. 
Printed by Isaiah Thomas, 1800, Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Greek Testament. The second issued in America. Printed at 
Philadelphia by S. F. Bradford, 1806. 

ancient versions of the bible. 

Translations of the Scriptures became necessar^^when the Jews were 
dispersed in the Greco-Roman world and gradually abandoned the use 
of the Hebrew language, and later when Christianity was proi^agated 
among various nations. The oldest and most important version of the 
Old Testament, which in its turn became the parent of many other 
translations, is the Greek of Alexandria, known by the name of the 
Septuagint. The name Septuagint, meaning seventy, is derived from 
the tradition that it was made by a company of seventy (or rather 
seventy-two) Jewish scholars, at Alexandria, under the reign of 
Ptolemy Philadeli)hus, 285-247 B. C, who desired a copy for the 
library he was gathering. The truth of its origin seems to be that 
Alexandria became, after the Babylonian captivity, a center of Jewish 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1896.— Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 41, 




Repoit of U. S. National Museum, 1895. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 42. 



m 

m 

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2 
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J^eport of U. S. National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 43. 



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H 




EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1017 

population. As time went on the Jews lost command of the Hebrew 
language and required a translation of their sacred books into Greek. 
The men who met this want differed very much in know edge and 
skill, were of an indeterminate number, and of different periods, 
beginning the work at the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus and ending it 
about 150 B. 0. The Pentateuch is much more carefully translated 
than the rest of the Bible. Books now considered apocryphal were 
included in the canon. The Septuagint was used by the Jews until 
the second century of the Christian era, when they reverted to the 
Hebrew. It was also, no doubt, used by the Apostles and by the 
Church Fathers, who refer to it under the name of ''Yulgata.^' 

TargtUM or Aramean translation of the Old Testament. 
Parallel edition of the Pentateuch with the Hebrew text and various 
Hebrew commentaries, Vienna, 1859. — Targum, which means transla- 
tion, is a name specifically given to the Aramean versions. They are 
supposed to owe their origin to the disuse of the Hebrew tongue by 
exiles in Babylon. They were at first oral, and arose from the custom 
of having the law read in Hebrew and then rendered by the official 
translator [Meturgeman^ English dragoman) into Aramean. The best 
Targum is that which passes under the name of Onkelos, who lived 
about 70 A. B. It is, however, generally assumed that, in its present 
shape at least, it was produced in the third century A. D. in Babylonia. 
That ascribed to Jonathan ben Uziel, which originated in the fourth 
century A. I), in Babylon and is only extant on the Prophets, is more 
in the nature of an homiletic paraphrase, while the so-called Jerusalem 
Targum ("Pseudo- Jonathan") was probably not comj^leted till the 
seventh century. 

Facsimile of manuscripts of the Septuagint, ascribed to 300 
A. D. — The original is an Egyptian papyrus now at Vienna. It con- 
sists of sixteen sheets written on both sides, and contains the greater 
part of Zechariah from the fourth chapter and parts of Malachi. It is 
written in uncial characters (capitals) and contains no divisions between 
the words. 

Facsimile of the Codex Vaticanus, containing the Old and 
New Testaments, in six volumes. Pome, 1808-1881. — Tlie Codex Vati- 
canus, so called from the fact that it is preserved in the Vatican at 
Pome, is the best and oldest Biblical manuscript now kuown. It is 
written in Greek, in uncial characters, and was probably the work of 
two or three scribes in Egypt during the fourth century. The original 
is jn'obably the most valuable treasure of the Vatican Library. It was 
brought to Rome by Pope Nicholas V in 1448. The manuscript is not 
quite comi)lete; there are a few gai)s in the Old Testament, and the 
New Testament ends with Hebrews ix, 14. 

Codex Sinaiticus. Facsimile edition, St. Petersburg. Four vol- 
umes, 1802. — The Codex Sinaiticus was discovered in 1850 byConstan- 
tine Tischenforf in the Convent of St. Catharine at the foot of Mount 



k 



1018 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

SiDai. It was transferred to Cairo, then to Leipsic, and later to St. 
Petersburg, where it is xireserved in the Imperial Library. His text 
was ])rinted in Leipsic from types especially cast in imitation of the 
original and published at St. Petersburg at the ex^^ense of Czar 
Alexander IL The original is on parchment, written in uncial char- 
acters, four columns to a page, and forty-eight lines on a page. It 
dates from the middle of the fourth century. It contains the greater 
part of the Old Testament and the whole of the jSTew Testament. Four 
different scribes were employed in its writing. 

Codex Alexandrinus. Printed in type to represent the original 
manuscript. London, 181G. — This facsimile version of the Alexandrian 
or Egyptian text of the Bible appeared in 1S16 in four volumes, Vol- 
umes I-III containing the Old Testament and Volume IV the Xew Tes- 
tament. It contains the whole Bible, with the exception of a few parts. 
The original manuscript was presented to King Charles I by Sir Thomas 
Roe, from Cyril Lucar Patriarch, of Constantinople. It was transferred 
to the British Museum in 1753. It is written on parchment in uncials, 
without division of chapters, verses, or words. Tradition idaces the 
writing of this manuscript in the fourth century, bat it is now generally 
assumed to date from the fifth century. 

The Vulgate or Latin Bible. — The Vulgate goes back to a 
Latin translation made from the Septuagint, in Xorth Africa, in the 
second century, and known as the Vetus Latina or " Old Latin." A 
revised form of this translation was current in Italy toward the end 
of the fourth centurj^, and was known as the Itala or "Italic." The 
present version, however, is due to St. Jerome (Hieronymus), and was 
made by him in Bethlehem between 383 and 404 A. D. It was for 
a long time the Bible of the Western Church and of a large iDart 
of the Eastern Church. St. Jerome began the revision of the Old 
Testament with the book of Psalms, of which he produced three 
cox^ies known as the Poman, Gallican, and Hebrew Psalters. But 
of the rest of the Old Testament he made a new translation from the 
original Hebrew, with which he was well acquainted. The translation 
is commonly called the Vulgate, a name which was originally given to 
the Septuagint. It is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church. It 
was printed by Gutenberg between 1450 and 1455, being the first 
imi^ortant specimen of printing with movable types. 

Syriac Old Testament. Edited by S. Lee and printed at London, 
1823. — The oldest Sj^riac version of the Bible is the Peshitta (-'correct" 
or ''simple"), the most accurate of the ancient translations. It is 
referred to in the Commentaries of Ephraim the Syrian, in the fourth 
century, and was already at that time an old book. 

The whole translation was made from the Hebrew, but the translators 
were free in their renderings, and seem also to have been acquainted 
with the Septuagint. 

Syriac I^bw Testament. — Printed at Hamburg, 1664. 



Repoil of U. S National Museum, 1 896.— Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 44. 



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EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1019 

Coptic New Testament. — Manuscript of the seventeenth century, 
Cairo, Egyjjt. Coptic was the language of the Egyptian Christians. 
It is a development from the ancient hieroglyphic language, with an 
admixture of Greek AYords, and continues to the present day to be used 
in the services of the Christian Church in Egypt. There were differ- 
ences in tbe dialects spoken in different parts of the country, and so 
there are three Egyptian translations of the Bible — the Thebaic or 
Sahidic, the Memphitic or Bahiric, commonly called the Coptic, and 
the Bashmuric. They all probably date from the second century and 
are made after the Septuagint. The present manuscript contains 
St. Mark in the Bahiric dialect. 

Ethiopic version of the Bible. — Photograph of original Bible, 
preserved in the United States National Museum. This copy was 
obtained from King Theodore, of Abyssinia, by Lord Napier, and by 
him presented to General Grant. The Ethiopic version was made 
from the Septuagint in the fourth century, probably by Frumentius, 
the apostle of Ethiopia. It has forty- six books in all, containing, in 
addition to the Canon, a large number of Apocryphal books. 

Arabic version of Saadia Gaon. — In Hebrew characters. The 
Peniateuch, edited by J. Derenbourg, Paris, 1893. Saadia Gaon was 
born at Eayum, A. D. 892, and died in 942. His translation of the 
Bible is rather a paraphrase, and has a high exegetical value. 

Arabic Bible. — Manuscript. (See plate 44.) Complete Old Testa- 
ment, neatly written and well preserved. Dated by scribe 1560, A. D. 
Cairo, Egypt. 

Arabic New Testament. — Contains the Epistles and Acts, the 
last iive verses of the Acts wanting. Sixteenth century, Cairo, Egypt. 

MODERN translations OF THE BIBLE. 

The New Testament, translated by John Wycliffe about 
1380; ])rinted from a contemporary manuscript by William Pickering, 
London, 184S. John Wycliffe was born in Yorkshire about 1320. He 
studied at Baliol College, Oxford, and was for some time master of that 
college. He became later rector of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, and 
was the foremost leader of the reform x^arty. He died in 1384. About 
1380 he undertook, with the assistance of some of his followers, espe- 
cially Nicholas Hereford, the translation of the entire Bible into 
English from the Latin of the Vulgate. It was the first com])lete 
English Bible. His translation was, after his death, revised by one of 
his adherents. The present copy is assumed to rei)resent the first 
version prepared by Wycliffe himself, or at least under his supervision. 

Tynd ale's New Testament. Facsimile by E. Fry. — William Tyn- 
dale was born between 1484 and 148G in Gloucestershire. He was 
educated at Oxford and afterwards at Cambridge. He went to Ham- 
burg and later joined Luther at Wittenberg, Avhere he finished the 
translation of the New Testament into English. The first edition was 



1020 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896 



n 



issued in i52o. It was the first Englisli trauslation made from the 
Greek, aud it became the basis of all subsequent ones. It was also the 
first part of the Scriptures printed in the English language. In 1530 
the translation of the Pentateuch was issued. His English style was 
ver}^ good and was largely retained in the Authorized version. His 
translation was condemned by the English bishops, and was ordered to 
be burned. Tyndale was strangled for heresy at Antwerp in 1536, and 
his body burned. 

The Gothic and Anglo-Saxon Gospels, with the versions of 
Wyclifie and Tyndale. Arranged by Eev. Joseph Bosworth, London, 
18G5. — The Gothic version was made in the fourth century by Bishop 
Ulfilas, born 318 A. D., died about 381. It is said to have been a com- 
plete version, with the exception of the Book of Kings. It was proba- 
bly completed about 360 A. D. Only fragments are preserved in the 
so-called Oodex Argenteus, or "Silver Book,'* in the library of the Uni- 
versity of Upsala, Sweden. The Anglo-Saxon version was begun by 
King Alfred, who translated the Psalms in the ninth century. The 
translation now extant dates to the tenth century.^ 

CovERD ale's Bible. Eeprint by Baxter, 1838. — Miles Ooverdale 
was born at Coverham, in the Korth Eiding of Yorkshire, 1488. He 
died at Geneva in 1569. His Bible was issued October 4, 1535, being 
the first complete Bible printed in the English language. It was not 
translated from the original tongues, but was based chiefly on the Latin 
version and on Luther s Bible. It was undertaken at the wish of Thomas 
Cromwell, Earl of Essex, and dedicated to Henry YIII. 

The Genevan Version. Folio edition, printed at London, 1597. — 
This translation was made by English exiles during the reign of Mary, 
who took up their residence at Geneva. William Whittingham acted 
as editor, and his assistants were Thomas Cole, Christopher Goodman, 
Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson, and Bishop Coverdale. Some add 
John Knox, John Bodleigh, and John Pullain, and state that the trans- 
lators consulted Calvin and Beza. The first edition was printed at 
Geneva in 1560. It was printed at the expense of John Bodle}^, father 
of the founder of the Bodleian Library in Oxford. It was the most pop- 
ular Bible until superseded by the Authorized version, and was that 
brought to America by the Pilgrim Fathers. The division of chax)ters into 
verses, which had been introduced by Whittingham, from Stephanus's 
edition of 1551, was here for the first time adopted for the English Bible. 
The text of the Bible is accompanied by explanatory comments on the 
margin. It is sometimes called the "Breeches" Bible because of the 
substitution in Genesis iii, 7, of the rendering "breeches" for "aprons" 
of the other English version. 

King- James or Authorized Version. Folio edition, printed at 
London by Eobert Barker, 1613. — The preparation of a new English 
Bible was decided upon at a conference held at Hampton Court January 



^ For Wycliffe's and Tyndale's translations see above. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1021 

16 and 18, 1604. In that year King James I issued a commission to 
fifty-four eminent divines to undertake the work. It was not begun, 
however, until 1607, when seven of the original number had died. The 
forty-seven survivors were divided into six committees, two sitting at 
Oxford, two at Cambridge, and two at Westminster. In 1610 their 
work was completed, and then revised by a committee of six. Although 
universal!}^ known as the Authorized version, no record, either ecclesi- 
astical or civil, has ever been found of such authorization. The first 
edition was printed by Eobert Barker iu 1611. 

The Revised Version. — The increased knowledge concerning the 
original texts of the Scriptures, especially of the Greek New Testament, 
which resulted from the discovery of old manuscripts led to the desire 
for a revision of the Authorized version which was based upon the 
received text of Erasmus and Stephanus and exhibited many discrep- 
ancies from the emended original text. Such a revision was early advo- 
cated by men like Bishop EUicott, Archbishop Trench, and Bean Alford. 
Efforts were also made from time to time in the House of Commons to 
have a royal commission appointed. In 1870 the upper house of the 
Canterbury Convocation, on the motion of Bishop Wilberforce, took the 
subject in hand and instituted the proceedings which finally secured 
the accomplishment of the work. In 1871 an American committee of 
cooperation was organized. The Kew Testament was completed in 1881 
and the Old Testament in 1885. 

Parallel New Testament. Revised version and Authorized 
version. (Seaside Library.) The Revised version of the New Testa- 
ment appeared in England May 17, 1881, and in America May 20, 1881. 
The first half of the parallel Testament appeared in New York May 21 
and the second half May 23. 

The New Testament, translated by Con stan tine Tischendorf, 
Leipzig, 1869. Volume 1000, Tauchnitz series. — This translation was 
based on the labors of Tischendorf in revising the Greek text, largely 
due to his discovery of the Sinaitic Codex. It points out many errors 
in the Authorized version, and undoubtedly paved the way for the 
Revised version. 

Luther's Bible. German translation, made by Martin Luther. 
Edition of 1554. — The New Testament appeared in 1522 and the Old 
Testament in xDarts between 1523 and 1532. The complete Bible 
appeared in 1534. Previous to Luther's version there were in use at 
least ten distinct German versions, literal translations of the Latin Bible, 
Luther worked from the original tongues, and yet succeeded in giving 
the Bible a real German dress and a style that would appeal to German 
readers. Luther's translation was of prime importance in assisting the 
progress of the Reformation, and is also the foundation of the Geraiau 
literary dialect. 

Spanish Old Testament. Amsterdam, Holland, 1661 A. 1). (5421 
A. M.). — The first edition of this translation was printed in the middle 



1022 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 

of the sixteeiitli century. It bears the title '' The Bible in the Spanish 
language, translated word for woid from the Hebrew, examined by the 
Inquisition, with the i)rivilegium of the Duke of Ferrara." It is there- 
fore generally known as the Ferrara Bible. The copies of this trans- 
lation are divided into two classes — one appropriate for the use of the 
Jews, the other suited to the purposes of the Christians. The transla- 
tion is extremely literal, and the translator has indicated with an 
asterisk the words which are in Hebrew equivocal, or capable of differ- 
ent meanings. 

Eliot's Indian Bible. (See plate 45.) Facsimile reprint. Wash- 
ington, D. C, 1890. — John Eliot, " the apostle of the Indians," was born in 
England in 1604 and received his education at Cambridge. In 1G3I he 
removed to America and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, as minister, 
where he remained until his death, in 1690. He became interested in the 
conversion of the Indians of New England, whom he believed to be the 
descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, and determined to give them 
the Scriptures in their tribal tongue, which was the Xatick dialect. 
He completed the translation of the Kew Testament in 1661 and that 
of the entire Bible in 1663. It was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson, ''ordered to be printed by 
the Commissioners of the United Colonies in I^eV England, At the 
Charge, and with the Consent of the Cori)oration in England For the 
Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians in Sew England." 

Eliot's Indian Bible was the first ever printed in America, and the 
entire translation is stated to have been written with one pen. Eliot 
also published an Indian grammar and a number of other works, 
mostly relating to his missionary labors. The I^atick dialect, in which 
the translation of the Bible was made, is now extinct. 

Miniature Bible. — The smallest complete edition printed from 
type. Version of 1611. 

Cromwell's Soldier's Pocket Bible. Facsimile reprint. Com- 
piled by Edmund Calamy and issued for the use of the army of the 
Commonwealth, London, 1643. — It has frequently been stated that 
every soldier in Cromwell's army was provided with a x)ocket Bible, 
and it was sujjposed that an especially small copy was used. In 1854 
the late George Livermore, of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, discov- 
ered that the Bible which Cromwell's soldiers carried was not the whole 
Bible, but the soldier's pocket Bible, which was generally buttoned 
between the coat and the waistcoat, next to the heart. It consists of 
a number of quotations from the Genevan version (all but two from the 
Old Testament) which were especially applicable to war times. Only 
two copies of the original of this work are known to be in existence — 
one in America and the other in the British Museum. The work was 
reissued in 1693 under the title "The Christian Soldier's Penny Bible." 
The only copy known to be extant is in the British Museum. ^ 



^From the BibliograpMcal Introduction, 



Report of U. S National Museum, 1896. — Adier and Casanowicz. 



Plate 45. 



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Title Page of Eliot's Indian Bible. 



EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 1023 

Hieroglyphic Bible. (See plate 46.) Published by Joseph Avery, 
Plymouth; printed by George Clark & Co., Charleston, 1820. — A num- 
ber of hieroglyphic Bibles have been printed in America, the first being 
that of Isaiah Thomas, at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1788. Words 
in each verse are represented by pictures, the whole being designed 
^'to familiarize tender age in a pleasing and diverting manner with 
early ideas of the Holy Scriptures." ^ 

Bishop Asbury's Testament, with hundreds of the texts for his 
sermons marked in his own handwriting. — Francis Asbury, born in 
Staffordshire 1745, died in Virginia 1816, was the first bishop of the 
Methodist Church ordained in America. He was sent as a missionary 
by John Wesley in 1771, and in person organized the work of his 
denomination in the entire eastern portion of the United States, per- 
formed the first ordination in the Mississippi Valley, and in 1784 
founded the first Methodist college. 

Thomas Jefferson's Bible, consisting of texts from the Evangel- 
ists, historically arranged. — This book bears the title, '' The life and 
morals of Jesus of Nazareth, extracted textually from the gospels, in 
Greek, Latin, French, and English." Four versions were employed. 
The passages were cut out of printed copies and pasted in the book. 
A concordance of the texts is given in the front and the sources of 
the verses in the margins. The section of the Eoman law under which 
Jefi'erson supposed Christ to have been tried is also cited. All of these 
annotations, as well as the title page and concordance, are in Jefferson's 
own handwriting. Two maps, one of Palestine and another of the 
ancient world, are pasted in the front. Jefferson long had the i>repa- 
ration of this book in mind. On January 29, 1804, he wrote from 
Washington to Dr. Priestley: ''I had sent to Philadelphia to get two 
Testaments (Greek) of the same edition, and two English, with a 
design to cut out the morsels of morality and paste them on the leaves 
of book." Nearly ten years later (October 13, 1813), in writing to John 
Adams, he stated that he had for his own use cut up the gospels ^' verse 
by verse" out of the printed book, arranging the matter which is 
evidently His (Christ's). In the same letter he describes the book as 
" the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been 
offered to man." 

^The American editions are not described in W. L. Clouston's splendid work on 
Hieroglyphic Bibles. 



Report of U. S. National Museum, 1 896.— Adler and Casanov 



Plate 46. 




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